Branching Winds
by Sevrow
Summary: During many of her lapses in focus, Natsuka Hyuuga often wondered if fate was real. Was destiny truly the reason behind everything? She knew her brother's thoughts on the matter, but she decided she rather liked the idea of free will. Warning: steep fall off the canon cliff.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 1: Days

 _May your past be the sound of your feet upon the ground_

* * *

Rays of sunlight peeked through the window, and birds chirped in the distance. It was a rather pleasant sound to awake to, Natsuka thought. Eyes the color of pearls opened slowly and leisurely. She yawned rather ungracefully and began to slowly rise from her bed, thoughts drifting to morning tea and what she would eat for breakfast, when a sound jolted her up quickly.

" _Natsuka_!" a voice hissed. "Get up. We'll be late."

The voice offered no path for arguing. Natsuka quietly sighed before answering in her usual calm drawl, "I'm awake Neji. Give me a moment."

Natsuka stood up, finally, and took several moments to stretch. She heard several cracks and sighed contentedly before moving to dress. She could easily hear the tapping foot on the other side of the door. Apparently, her dear brother had even less patience than usual this morning.

After another couple of minutes, she slid the door to her room open and looked up at her twin. They were each dressed in their normal training attire, Neji in his usual loose and, in her opinion, rather drab garb. Natsuka herself wore a long sleeve lose gray shirt that was almost a dress, and the typical navy shinobi pants with a kunai holster strapped to her thigh. She supposed they were both rather drab with their fashion sense.

Neji glared down at her with his classic holier-than-thou look, which Natsuka believed scared many people off, but only served to amuse her. She vaguely recalled a time when she and her brother were the same height. Back then, you could hardly tell the two apart, despite the fact that they were different genders. It entertained Natsuka to no end when fellow clansmen who saw her around the compound would refer to her by her brother's name before seeing her face and promptly stuttering in embarrassment. But alas, about a year or so ago Neji shot up while Natsuka simply.. did not. Before, you'd have to see the siblings faces to tell who was who, but now with Neji several inches taller than her it was impossible to confuse the two. Besides the height difference, Natsuka didn't fail to notice how their features continued to differentiate as they aged. While they both also shared the same dark, long and straight hair, the similarities ended there. Neji left his hair alone and let it flow down his back. Natsuka preferred to keep hers in a thick braid. Neji's face had grown longer with age, the baby fat fading into sharp angles and a strong chin. His eyes were also constantly squinted into a harsh glare. Natsuka belatedly wondered if that gave him headaches. She, on the other hand, had a rounder face, and softer eyes. She couldn't recall the last time she'd glared at someone, rather, her eyes almost always seemed slightly drooped, as if she were constantly tired. She was cut short in her musings by her brother's voice.

"You might be on my level, you know, if you bothered to get up in the mornings to train like you are supposed to." Neji spoke with his usual cold indifference. It might hurt Natsuka's feelings, if she weren't so used to it. He had probably been up and training for hours already.

Instead of bothering to reply to his statement, she simply shrugged and stepped around him to begin walking down the hall. He let out a barely audible "hmph" and followed suit. They walked side by side across the house until they reached the room they had tea in every morning. Natsuka noticed they were the last to arrive and received a poke in her side for it by her brother. She gave him a nice side glare as she sat. Neji sat in his usual spot to her right, and they both sat silently while servants poored them each a cup of tea. They sipped in a continued silence for several minutes, and it would have been quite awkward if it weren't a daily occurrence. Finally, a voice spoke.

"You're late," said their uncle, not looking up from his cup.

She fought the urge to let out another sigh, and decided to handle this one. "Apologies, Hiashi-sama. I overslept. It won't happen again."

"I might believe you, if this didn't happen every other day," Hiashi said, still indifferent as ever. If one did not know him they would think he didn't care that they were there at all. But Natsuka and Neji did know him, and they knew how easily his patience was tested.

"Apologies, Hiashi-sama," she repeated again. Luckily for her, he decided to drop it, seemingly done speaking for the time being.

She took this as a cue to begin saying more than just a few words. It was an unspoken tradition that no one spoke at morning tea until Hiashi did.

"Good morning, Hinata-sama, Hanabi-sama." Natsuka spoke politely to her two cousins, and gave them each a friendly nod.

"Morning Natsuka onee-chan!" Hanabi chirped in her usual cheery voice. Natsuka truly believed that the young girl had more enthusiasm than the rest of the table combined.

"Good m-morning Natsuka onee-san, Neji onii-san." Hinata said, in a much calmer tone than her younger sister.

Neji said nothing and merely nodded shortly across the table at them. Natsuka again reigned in her sigh. It seemed her brother could never bring himself to be friendly to his cousins. He was never disrespectful; his manners would not let him behave in such a way. But Natsuka could not once recall a time when her brother acted affectionately towards either of his cousins. He seemed barely able to tolerate them on a daily basis. Natsuka had also never bothered to try to change him of his ways. She knew such a thing was not possible with Neji, and she did not want to anyway. A small part of her did not blame her brother for his behavior.

How could he not hate his own family, after all, given his position? How was it fair that Hanabi could sit there without a care in the world, and Hinata could be so demure and complacent, acting afraid of everything? Hinata, heir to the great and noble Hyuuga clan, was currently hunched over her tea and nervously looking across the room, staring blankly at a wall. Natsuka held in her sneer. She was much better at that than Neji. Much more skilled in holding in her irritation and distaste. Neji was even more reserved than Natsuka, but no amount of effort could ever wipe the utter contempt off his face, or the look he sometimes got in his eye when he glanced Hinata's way.

But, alas, Natsuka preferred to think of less dreary things. She did not like her cousins, but she could not hate them. Hate required a certain amount of effort that she was not prepared to give, and she could not blame them for being born. It was no one's fault that they were main branch, and she and Neji were not. That was birth, that was how it was. It was someone's fault, however, that both she and her brother currently wore their hitai-ate over their foreheads; and Hinata and Hanabi, should they ever attain hitai-ate, would be free to wear them where they pleased. There was plenty of blame to go around for that, but Natsuka pushed the darker thoughts to the back of her mind and focused on the present.

"Shall we go, aniki?" let it be said that Neji was in fact only two minutes older than herself.

Neji wordlessly stood up, and together they began their walk to training ground 11. Natsuka finally let out a real sigh of relief, wordlessly grateful that the daily morning fest of silence was over.

"It's graduation day at the academy," she offered up the conversation piece to her brother as they walked. "Do you think Hinata will pass the exam?"

Neji snorted, something he would only ever do in his sister's presence, and said "Perhaps. It is her destiny to be a failure, but I do believe even _she_ could pass such an easy exam."

"Hmm," she said, "I hear there are many clan children graduating this year. Perhaps we'll get some new training partners soon?" As it turns out, there were very few Genin in their age group, and training was generally limited to their own team. It got old, very fast.

"Hmph. If any of them can keep up, that is." Neji spoke coldly, but he couldn't keep the smirk off his face. The idea of new training partners appealed to him as well. "We shall see when we retrieve Hinata-sama from the academy later today." He never failed to use honorifics, unlike herself, even when they were only in the presence of each other.

"Haven't been there in nearly a year." Natsuko said wryly. "Can't say I miss it."

"I do not think anyone would miss the academy," Neji said, a rare smile gracing his face. They continued on their walk across the village in peaceful silence.

They arrived to training ground 11 promptly, just as training was scheduled to begin. Unlike some teams, they did not have to be up and training at ungodly early hour, but they made up for it by training _all day_. Natsuka honestly had no idea how her brother had the energy for it all.

As soon as they arrived, they came upon a strange sight. Well, strange for others, normal to them. Their third and final teammate, TenTen, was on the ground and doing pushups with a large green blob twice the size of her sitting on her back. The poor girl looked rather dazed as the blob shouted mindless enthusiasms at her and pushed her to go faster.

The twins shared a look out of the corner of their eyes, before they each audibly sighed and walked forward into view of the others. The blob suddenly moved, disappearing from Tenten's back and reappearing not a second later right in front of them. They were then blinded by the biggest and whitest smile ever to be seen, and the most enthusiastic thumbs up that could possibly ever be given.

"HELLO, my little bundles of youth!" Might Gai had possibly the loudest voice known to mankind, Natsuka had long ago decided. "Are we ready to be blossoms of youth and productiveness today!"

The man never seemed to actually ask questions, he just shouted everything. Neji cringed and wordlessly moved towards TenTen to begin warming up. Natsuki offered a smile and spoke in as friendly a voice as she could muster, "Good morning, Gai-sensei. I too, hope we can have a productive day of training." Deep down, though Natsuka would never admit it, she really liked Gai-sensei. She admired his passion and zeal for training and improving, and appreciated the fact that he didn't have a mean bone in his body. Gai-sensei could never be anything less than genuine.

She began stretching with Neji and TenTen while Gai rambled on about the agenda for the day and how they should all aspire to be youthful ducklings. She was rather lazily stretching her arms and staring at the clouds when suddenly her teammates began running off into the distance. She stared blankly at their figures disappearing on the horizon before her sensei spoke.

"Nastuka-chaaaaaan!~ I see the power of youth has distracted you! I shall repeat myself! Today, we will begin with 100 laps around the village, then we shall direct our youthfulness into the practice of our katas, then we will run another 100 youthful laps around…"

Natsuka didn't hear the rest, as she had already begun running. She didn't like to think of herself as lazy, but Gai-sensei's training regimen was truly dreadful and she really didn't wish to hear what was on today's schedule. She let out a deep sigh, sent a look to the clouds one more time before looking straight again, and focused on her run. She wouldn't want to run into another building again, after all.

* * *

The Hyuuga twins walked to the academy later that day to pick up their cousin. Neji stood as tall and graceful as ever, while his shorter sibling slumped ever so slightly. While the siblings were nearly on par with skill, in training Neji almost always came out on top. Natsuka simply lacked a certain drive to succeed like her brother. She had a short attention span, and would often lose interest in training activities. She knew all this was true, but never let it faze her. Her brother was a prodigy, and she was not. It was that simple. The idea of being the most powerful person around was not something that Natsuka had ever put much thought into, as her brother did.

Taking their cousin, heiress to the clan, to the academy everyday had been a chore for them since Hinata had begun at the academy years before. The heir simply could not be seen walking alone throughout the village, and so she was always followed by a clan member or two. A year ago, when Natsuka and Neji became Genins, Hiashi allowed them to go straight to training or missions in the morning, but they were always expected to pick up Hinata every afternoon and walk her back to the compound.

Today, TenTen accompanied them. The kunoichi looked a little worse for wear, like Natsuka.

"Neh, Natsuka, that was one of the worst days in a while, yeah?" she asked, stretching her arms as she walked, which were likely sore from all those push-ups. Natsuka had always enjoyed TenTen's informal way of speaking, so different from that of the clan.

"Hmm," she agreed. "Gai-sensei's been on a roll lately. When was the last time we had a mission anyway? Three weeks ago?"

"Something like that. Wonder what all this training is for. He can't train us forever, can he?" TenTen's voice when up a few octaves at the end of her question, as if she was actually contemplating the idea.

"Unlikely." Neji chimed in. He rarely said more than he absolutely needed to. "There is a Chunin examination being held here in Konoha in a few months' time. He is likely preparing us for it."

They all paused for a moment, thinking back on last year's Chunin exam. We had only been a Genin team for a few short months, and personally Natsuka has agreed with Gai-sensei deeming them unready for it, though Neji had thrown a fit. Well, if Neji is even capable of doing that. He did glare a lot more for several weeks after that though.

"We're definitely ready." Natsuka smirked.

"Agreed, I honestly can't wait," TenTen said, smiling. They said their goodbyes and parted ways shortly before reaching the academy. Neji gave a nice little nod.

They arrived at the academy before they could discuss the matter further, and Natsuka took a moment to take in the sheer amount of people surrounding the area. Ah, graduation day. Families always came out to celebrate the promotion to Genin with their children. Most families, that is. Hiashi- _sama_ would never waste his time on such trivial matters. He hadn't come to the twin's graduation, and he didn't come to his own daughters. Natsuka had a feeling little Hanabi would be sad later to have missed out on the event, but oh well. She shrugged as they moved through the crowd, looking for their cousin.

They passed several civilian children, some holding shiny new hitai-ate's proudly and others looking quite devastated. Natsuka, like her brother, briefly wondered how it was possible to fail such a simple exam. Didn't they just have to make a clone, or something similar? Ah, well. Not everyone can be a ninja. They passed several clan families as well. They just barely managed to not get stampeded by a hoard of Inuzuka's. Natsuka remembered Hinata stammering on about an Inuzuka from time to time. What was his name? Kita? She didn't really care enough to remember. And there off to the side of everyone was a boy that Natsuka knew could only be an Aburame. Unlike the Inuzuka's, it appeared that only his parent's had come to the exam. The three of them even had matching glasses, which Natsuka thought was rather cute. And further away from them she glimpsed all three of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans. They really weren't very hard to find, being so distinctive. She noted that all three clan heads were present.

"Interesting. So many future clan heads graduating this year, aniki. Do you think they all planned to have kids at the same time?"

"Hmph. No doubt." Neji answered with a small smile. If anyone could ever entertain him, it was his sister.

"See, there's Inoichi's little brat, Ino. And Shikaku's son, whatever his name is. And that cutie Akimichi boy! Don't you think he's a cutie, Neji?"

Neji cringed and look down at her. "Calm down, imoto," was all he said.

Natsuka laughed quietly as they continued maneuvering through the crowd. They passed a small crowd of Uchiha on the way, and that was positively uncomfortable. For reasons beyond her knowledge, the Hyuuga and Uchiha had always been at odds with each other. Natsuka herself couldn't recall ever even meeting an Uchiha face to face, but she had seen them around the village from time to time. It was said that they rarely left their secluded compound, so Natsuka sometimes thought of them as exotic animals. Tall, stoic animals. She knew about as much about the Uchiha's as she did about the other clan's, which wasn't much. But she did know that the clan head, Fukaku, had two sons named Itachi and Sasuke. She knew this only because Hiashi often discussed them at dinner and during training. He often boasted about the apparent achievements of the eldest son, Itachi, and constantly pushed Neji and herself to be just as good. She knew it really got to Neji, but she'd never bothered to listen much. She didn't really understand how Hiashi could compare them to someone she knew to be several years older than them and thus much more experienced. She'd also never been one to compare herself to others.

As she glanced by, she guessed the smallest boy holding his headband up to his mother was the little brat that had just graduated. Huh, the longer she looked, the more she noticed that the kid was as much of a cutie as the Akimichi. Something about his little baby cheeks really got to her.

"Disgusting." Neji muttered, barely audible.

"Oops, did I say something out loud?" she asked sheepishly. "What can I say Neji? Kids are cute."

They continued on, but not before she got one last look at the Uchiha. Instead of looking at the kid some more though, she noticed two pairs of onyx eyes staring at her. Not the clan head or his wife, and not the kid, but two boys, in their teens. A little older than her, probably. Natsuka merely raised an eyebrow and acted as if she hadn't been caught staring. One of the boys broke eye contact and looked down at the kid, but the other, strangely enough, winked at her. Natsuka froze and stopped moving altogether for a few moments, completely flabbergasted. Did an _Uchiha_ just wink at her?

" _Natsuka_!" her brother's voice hissed, not for the first time that day. "Stop blanking out. Let's find Hinata-sama and go."

"Heh. Right aniki." Natsuka shuffled a little to catch up to her brother and resumed her normal graceful gait. At least, she hoped it was graceful. She was a bit sore from training.

"Neji?" She exclaimed suddenly, sounding rather shocked.

"What?" He said, unused to outbursts like that from her.

"Is that? Lee-san?"

" _What_." Was all Neji could say.

But neither of them could deny that the green blob, a miniature version of their own sensei, was there amongst the crowd. He was sporting a wide smile and wearing a headband proudly across his head. Natsuka thought back to a year ago when she and her brother had first become Genin.

* * *

" _You have both performed well." Hiashi-sama spoke. It was as close as it would ever come to him saying "I'm proud of you." Natsuka actually smiled, and though he tried to hide it, she could tell her brother was just as proud._

" _I have good news. After some deliberation, you two will be placed together on a team. I attempted to convince the counsel that solo apprenticeships were the best route, but they were adamantly against it." Hiashi took a moment to give a severe frown. "Your sensei will be Might Gai."_

 _Natsuka could not resist raising an eyebrow. Even as a fresh Genin, even she had heard of the infamous green ninja. Neji looked equally shocked._

" _Might…Gai?" He asked. "Hiashi-sama, with all due respect, are you sure that is the best route for us?" he looked pained to be talking back to the clan head, but he could not help himself when it came to the matter of his new sensei._

" _You are right to question me, Neji. I do not approve of this matching, but it is the only option. Originally, the elders were going to place Natsuka with a team of civilians. That could not happen. There are no other Genin's on your level, it is imperative for your success that you be placed together."_

 _And so, with just a few words from a powerful clan head, the course of a child's future was changed. With someone else taking his team spot, and no Jounin's willing to take on an apprenticeship to a boy unable to utilize chakra, Rock Lee was sent back to the academy for another year._

* * *

Natsuka only knew of Rock Lee's situation because Hiashi had told them. She knew Neji had no care for the boy one way or another; he had deemed him fated to be weak the moment he found out he could not use chakra. But Natsuka had always felt a shred of guilt for taking his spot. She knew it hadn't been up to her, but that didn't stop her from feeling bad about it. She knew deep down that the actions that had transpired were wrong, and wreaked of clan manipulation. Though neither of them had ever questioned it, they knew that it was unheard of for two Hyuuga, let alone siblings, to be placed on a team together. She strongly suspected that Gai-sensei knew as much, but she also was nearly certain that he had no idea that Natsuka was not originally his student.

She was happy to see that he had at least passed the Genin exam again. Perhaps now, fate would be kinder to him.

Beside her, Neji was glaring in shock.

"How? He can't even use chakra! How did that weakling become a ninja?"

"You forget Neji, that he passed the exam once before." She reminded him quietly. She shook her head, not wanting to dwell. "It doesn't matter."

She finally spotted her cousin in the crowd and wordlessly waved her over. She didn't fail to notice the new hitai-ate tied securely around her cousin's collar. Natsuka felt a brief surge of bitterness, but quickly shoved it down. She offered a small smile.

"Congratulations, Hinata-sama." Neji repeated the same words, albeit very stiffly. He could not even bother to try to fake enthusiasm for his cousin's success.

Nevertheless, Hinata seemed happy with just those few short words. She smiled brightly at them and said, "T-thank you, Natsuka nee-san, Neji nii-san. Tomorrow we will be assigned our teammates and senseis." The girl looked hopeful and excited. Natsuka noted that her stutter wasn't completely horrendous today.

"I am sure it will turn out well," she offered.

As they began walking back to the compound, Natsuka spotted an orange blur. She turned her head and saw one Naruto Uzumaki sitting alone on a bench, gripping a headband in his hand. He was looking towards the ground and did not see her staring at him. Natsuka's thoughts swirled, thinking about the boy. He was known as the village's pariah. "The fox," he was often called. He was leered at, bullied, and parents often kept their children away from him. She knew all this from seeing it unfold every day at the academy. It often saddened her to see children walking home for the day with their parent's, while he would trudge off to wherever he lived alone. Natsuka had no idea why he was treated the way he was, and thought it was all rather silly. But at the same time, the darker side of her wondered if there was reason behind the mistreatment. It was no matter though; she had never interacted with the boy and likely never would. Even Hinata had never mentioned him, and they were in the same class.

Hinata continued smiling and they went on their way. It was time to return home and prepare for yet another day of grueling training. Natsuka sighed.

* * *

Author's Note

This is an OC story, not SI and not reincarnation. And, in case you didn't notice, non-mass. Criticism, ideas and opinions always welcome.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 2: Nights

 _Day and night_

 _I toss and turn, I keep stressing my mind_

* * *

" _Daddy, where are we going?" Natsuka asked her father._

" _I told you, Suka, we're attending a very special gathering." Hizashi smiled down at his daughter, but pushed her along at a fast pace. "Come along, or we'll be late. We cannot be late for this."_

 _Evidently, even back then Natsuka had a tendency to be just a little late to everything._

" _A gath-er-ing?" Little Natsuka was just three years old, and sometimes she struggled with those bigger words the adults liked to use._

" _Yes. A gathering. Most of the clan will be present. It is imperative that you behave yourself."_

 _Hizashi looked down at his daughter, who was blinking a bit owlishly. He sighed and rephrased his words. "You must act like a good little girl while we are there, chibi-chan. You can do that, can't you?" He often forgot just how young his children were. They were so intelligent for being so young. Well, most of the time at least._

" _Oh! Of course I can daddy. You can trust me!" Natsuka was well aware that she had a small rebellious streak and would sometimes purposefully misbehave. She smiled impishly at her father. "What are we gonna do at this gath-er-ing, anyway?"_

 _Hizashi said nothing for a while and simply stared ahead. Natsuka felt a change in the air as a sort of tension filled her father's face. "Daddy?"_

" _The Hyuuga value prestige, power, and honor. These are things that are important to us, do you understand, Natsuka? Above all else, we protect and cherish each other. There is nothing you should ever put above your own clan, your own family."_

 _Natsuka was looking her father with wide eyes. Why was he telling her this? She loved her family. He didn't need to remind her._

" _Today, you will show them just how much you honor the Hyuuga. Do you want to do that, Natsuka?"_

" _YES! I can be the most hon-or-able ever!" She giggled up at her father._

 _Hizashi closed his eyes and looked away. He was in more pain than little Natsuka would ever realize._

" _Hey, daddy, is Neji coming? He's coming right?" Her words got faster and faster, the excitement bubbling over. "I haven't seen him since yesterday! He was so grumpy. What happened anyway, daddy? Did he get a boo boo in training?" She started frowning, upset that her brother may be hurt._

" _Neji is not coming." Hizashi said shortly. "This is something you must do alone."_

" _But.. is he gonna be ok? He came home with that big bandage over his face! Remember? And when I tried to talk to him he told me to go away!" Natsuka's eyes started to water as she remembered the way her brother had treated her. Her feelings had been hurt. She didn't know why Neji had been so mean to her._

" _Neji will speak when he is ready. Do not push him, Natsuka." Hizashi's voice had become more serious, and there was no room for argument in his voice._

 _Natsuka slumped a bit and looked down. "Yes, father."_

 _She really wished her brother could come to this special event, whatever it was. They always had more fun together. Oh well, she'd have to make the best of it._

 _They arrived to their destination. "Uncle's house? What are we doing here, daddy?"_

 _Hizashi kept walking. He turned around and held out his hand. He looked so sad, Natsuka thought briefly. "Come. It's time."_

 _Natsuka briefly wondered what it was time for, but she shrugged and followed her father into the house. She didn't realize that it would be the last time she ever blindingly trusted a Hyuuga, besides her own brother. She also never noticed that it was the last time she referred to her father as "daddy." He'd inadvertently lost that title when he lost his daughter's trust. And not a single person knew he would be dead in less than a years' time._

 _Hours later, the two of them returned to their own home. It was dark out by now. Natsuka walked inside and went straight to her room without uttering a word to her father. She didn't know that Hizashi would be sitting at the dining room table with his head in his hands for hours after that._

 _When she opened the door to her room, she saw her brother sitting on her bed. They had matching bandages across their foreheads, now. He wasn't even looking at her, just staring blankly at the wall. She walked across the room and sat beside him. They didn't speak, or touch. No one inside that house did much of anything for a long while._

* * *

Near the edge of the Hyuuga compound, alongside a smattering of tall trees and away from all the houses, stood a memorial stone. It was reminiscent of the memorial stone for the public that stood a short distance across the village. But this one was smaller, and bore only Hyuuga names. It was the Hyuuga clan's personal memorial stone, where they honored all fallen brethren.

Natsuka and Neji knelt side by side with their heads bowed. They came here every so often to pay respect to the dead. Natsuka would never admit it, but she never came here on her own time like Neji did. She only came when she knew her brother was there, and decided to join him in her solace. There were many things Natsuka did not like her thoughts to dwell on, and the dead was one of them.

They sat in silence for a long while as their eyes flitted over the names. There were only a few that truly mattered to her. She saw her aunt's name on the stone, Hinata and Hanabi's mother. And her own mother's name. Their mother. She glanced away from that one quickly and continued on. Hizashi Hyuuga. Their father. That was a name that Natsuka had spent hours staring at many times before. Today was no different.

After a long while, the twins stood up as one. There was a mission briefing to attend, and she was glad. She didn't like the memories this stone trudged up. They started on their way to the Hogake tower. They were alone for the time being, TenTen would be meeting them at the there.

Several months had passed since their younger cousin had graduated the academy. Natsuka had heard that she'd been placed on a team with an Inuzuka boy and the Aburame heir. Their sensei was a Yuhi. For some reason, Natsuka thought that matchup seemed fitting. Hinata seemed to have grown a small amount of confidence since then, as if being on a team was all she needed to come out of her shell. "The blossom of youth," as Gai-sensei would call it. Natsuka was just glad that the girl didn't stutter nearly as much. It really grated on her nerves.

"Neji. Do you think Hinata is doing well as a Genin? I've noticed improvement in her, especially recently."

The twins often talked about their heir, more so than they realized. Neither of them even liked the girl, but talking about her often was like a habit they couldn't drop.

Neji snorted. "Of course not. She is mediocre, at best. She still has far to go with her Gentle Fist technique, she is unable to utilize the 64 palms, and her sight is horrendous. The last time I supervised her training, she was still incapable of seeing half of what we can see with Byakugan. She will be a career Genin, I have no doubt."

"Hmm. That is quite disappointing, isn't it? But a career Genin, really? You're so sure?" Natsuka thought that was perhaps going a bit far. "Surely she can try harder, train harder. I do not think she lacks motivation."

"Of course I'm sure." Neji scoffed. "It has been her fate since birth. She _will_ be a failure. How she will succeed as heir is beyond me. Hiashi-sama will likely marry her off to a stronger clan member."

"Hmm, if you say so Neji." Natsuka had her doubts about Hinata ending up a complete failure, but her brother did have a point. The girl had a long way to go. "Neh, Neji, do you think _I'll_ succeed?" she realized rather suddenly that she had never given much thought to her own future.

Neji looked at her strangely. "You will succeed." In his mind, there was simply no other option. His own sister could not be a failure. No, that was something reserved for his cousin.

"But Neji, you know I've never really thought about my future before? I don't even know what I want to do with my life." Natsuka was frowning now, seeming to come of a revelation of sorts. How could she not put any thought into her own future? "I know you'll be a wild success, we all do. Be promoted to Chunin, then Jounin, then rise up in the ranks of Anbu." She spouted all this off with a wave of her hand. It was Neji's dream, brought onto him by their uncle. Hiashi expected nothing better than perfection. Natsuka took a moment to ponder. She realized that Hiashi had never pushed an objection or goal onto her. Why only Neji? Did Hiashi simply expect her to follow in her older brother's footsteps? Natsuka thought this was likely the case. His own daughter had failed to meet his expectations thus far; it would not do to have a failure of a niece as well. She began to ponder aloud.

"You don't think Hiashi expects me to be a baby-maker do you?" It was a dark thought that barelled into her mind suddenly. She'd never really considered the Hyuuga clan to be sexist, but she'd also never thought about that aspect of clan life. Thinking about it now, she realized that she couldn't recall a single female Jounin from the clan off the top of her head. "All the women retire young from shinobi life and have children…" Natsuka's thoughts went downhill very fast. "I always assumed it was by choice. But what if it's tradition?" Her already pale face had gone a ghastly sheen of white and her usually droopy eyes were much wider than usual.

Neji was sneering. "Of course not, imoto. That's ridiculous. Have more faith in Hiashi-sama." Internally, he was making the same observations his sister was. She was right. How had he failed to notice the lack of female shinobi within his own clan?

"Right." She said, nodding. But she was far from convinced. Neji decided to use this moment of vulnerability as an opportunity.

"Prove him wrong, Natsuka." He said suddenly.

She looked at him quickly. "But you just said he wasn't-"

"I know. He's not. Let me finish." Neji had a calculating look in his eye and seemed to be pondering something deeply. He looked down at her and continued, speaking slowly. "Suka, you lack the drive to succeed. You always have."

Her eyes widened. It was rare for Neji to be harsh to his own sister. Everyone else, but never her. She was too shocked to be upset.

"The distance in our skill level only continues to grow. Are you really just going to let me pass you up that easily?"

She winced. He had a point. She knew she'd been slacking in training for quite some time now, if not always. What was she doing discussing her cousin in such a bad light, when she herself had no motivation? She only just now realized it was because she had no goal, no ambition. What was she working towards? Her brother seemed to read her mind.

"You are not a failure. That is not your fate. You were born to be great, if only you would utilize the skillset given to you. Find it, Suka, and use it. _Prove him wrong_." He finished with that statement abruptly and let out a deep breath, as he'd been holding something in for a very long time.

"We're twins for kami's sake. We are the _same_. What I can do, you can do just as well. There is no reason for you to have any less skill than I." He sounded remarkably sure of himself, though Natsuka didn't necessarily agree with his logic. She remained silent anyway.

Natsuka stared at her brother for several long moments, even as he broke eye contact and looked away. Was he trying to say she was lazy? If he was, was he wrong? She couldn't recall a time when she'd been this troubled and confused. Ambition.. she'd never given much thought to the word, just like she'd never given much thought to a lot of things. Find ambition, and find success. That was what Neji was saying. Find success, and bring honor to the clan. And that was what it all came down to, in the end.

 _For the clan, for the clan, for the clan._

Natsuka supposed there was no point in denying this reasoning. She could not change who she was, after all. She would always be a Hyuuga. When she finally spoke, it was only a few words.

"You're right." She sounded thoughtful. "Yes, you're right. I will try harder. I must." She nodded to herself resolutely.

Deep down, farther than her conscience could reach, a more sinister and aspiring part of her lay dormant. It was a part of her that wondered if she could not only be as good as her brother, but better. A part of her that knew she was more talented than her brother could ever be, with more potential than he could ever hope to have. It was a part of Natsuka that truly believed she could surpass her own brother, and do it with a smile.

But Natsuka would not awaken that side of herself today.

She was too busy thinking about plans for the future to notice her brother's face. She missed the look of satisfaction that spread across his face, and didn't notice how pleased he was with the conversation. Their musings were cut short by their arrival to the Hokage tower. They met TenTen on the way in and Natsuka's troubled thoughts drifted back to the present.

Their teammate offered them both a wide smile and wave. "Hello, Natsuka-chan, Neji!" It was true, Natsuka and TenTen had grown closer in the recent months. The girl was probably the closest friend she had beside her brother. That, and her only friend. Neji even got along nicely with her. He only glared at her about once a week.

Natsuka briefly wondered how her brother felt about TenTen's "fate." Did he think she was destined to fail, or succeed? Was there even an in-between?

"Suka!" TenTen chirped, distracting her from her thoughts. "You ready for this mission? First one outside of the village in forever!"

"I know." She agreed amicably. "I'm _so_ tired of all these dreadful D rank missions Gai-sensei has us running." Even Neji had to nod at that. "It's like he's purposefully holding us back."

TenTen shrugged. "Neh, who know Suka-chan. I'm just ready for the Chunin exams!" It was unspoken amongst the three of them that they _would_ compete in this year's exam. "Only a month till sign-ups begin!"

They entered the Hokage's office smiling, but came to an abrupt stop when they noticed how full the room was. Kami-sama, Natsuka thought. Was every Genin in the village here? Gai-sensei hadn't mentioned that this would be a joint mission, but she supposed they were all here for the same reason.

Just then, something shoved hard into her back. Luckily for her, she was saved by her reflexes and only shuffled a few steps forward. "Watch it," She snapped without looking back. She generally kept her manners in check, but she didn't take kindly to being taken by surprise like that. She turned around and saw three kids obviously a bit younger than her. More Genin. She noted with a raised eyebrow that it was Naruto Uzimaki standing directly behind. He was flanked by one of the Uchiha brothers, Sasuke was his name, and a pink haired brat.

He looked at her with wide eyes. "Sorry onee-san! Didn't see ya there!" He shrugged sheepishly and put a hand against his head.

Natsuka wondered how he'd missed her she was quite literally right in front of him. Nevertheless, she just said coolly, "Do try to watch where you're going, please." She decided then and there that if she was going on a mission with all these children, she would hold herself above them in maturity.

"Naruto! Idiot!" The pink haired child shouted obnoxiously and promptly wacked him on the head. Natsuka didn't know what to make of that.

"Dobe." This came from the little Uchiha brat.

"Yosh! I see you are missing out of youthfulness today!" Their sensei chimed in. He'd gotten there several minutes before his students.

 _Well_ , Natsuki thought, _they sure seem to get along well._

"Listen up!" A female voice yelled sternly. It was her cousin's sensei, Kurenai Yuhi. It was only then that she realized her cousin and her team were also in attendance. So were the Ino-Shika-Cho group, plus the kid that had shoved her, and his team. Natsuka vaguely recalled that a name had been given to this year's group of graduates. What was it? The Rookie 9, she remembered. And they were all here. _Fantastic_ , she thought sourly. She looked at her brother out of the corner of her eye and could see that he was feeling a similar sentiment.

They all quieted down - not that Natsuka's team was being loud in the first place - as the Hokage began speaking. She hadn't even noticed him seated at his desk. He was rather easy to pass by, if one really thought about it. Natsuka knew, however, that looks could be incredibly deceiving.

"Konoha 12, I've gathered you all here today for a very special mission." Apparently he'd decided to include her own team amongst all the fresh Genin. She sighed and barely refrained from rolling her eyes.

"Kakashi-sensei told us everything ji-ji! Our second mission outside of the village and our second C rank! LET'S GO!" She was really going to get a migraine from the Uzimaki's rambunctious voice.

"Dobe." The Uchiha sneered. "Shut up, would you? And that was technically an A rank, remember?" He smirked.

The rest of the Genin looked around at each other with raised eyebrows and questioning looks. Natsuka herself felt a strong surge of jealousy. An A rank, outside the village? These brats had just graduated the academy! How very unfair. Neji looked positively stupefied. She resolved to find out more information at a later time.

Before Naruto could reply the Hokage continued speaking, ignoring the interruption. "As you all know, we are allies to the Wind Country."

 _Technically,_ Natsuka thought. Everyone knew tensions between the two nations had always been high.

The Hokage continued. "I'm sending you all on a very important transport mission. A large band of merchants are set to depart from Konoha tomorrow morning. They're scheduled to bring much needed supplied to Suna in two weeks' time. Your job is to accompany the group as security."

 _We're babysitting a bunch of merchants,_ she realized. Most of the other Genin looked a bit more excited.

While he continued on with discussing their roles and responsibilities, her thoughts drifted. She looked around and noticed a man with a mop of white hair standing to her right. Holding a book with a very striking orange cover. _What?_ As if he felt her eyes on him, he suddenly lifted a single visible eye to her face. His stare was rather unnerving and she quickly looked away. Was that Kakashi Hatake? The elite Jounin as infamous as her own sensei, and the man he talked about all the time? She recalled that Gai-sensei had once declared he and Kakashi to be "youthful rivals." She didn't see a single similarity between this slouching man holding an inappropriate novel and her loud and upbeat sensei, so she was awfully curious as to where that relationship had started.

Gai-sensei was just standing next to the man with his usual blinding smile shining across the room. He absently clapped an arm on his friend's shoulder.

"Any questions?" The Hokage asked. When no one said anything, he gave a sharp nod and said, "Good. Be at the village gates tomorrow. You depart at sunrise."

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" Several voices said at once. She supposed if they were all cooler, older ninja, they would have shunshinned away at once. But alas, the Genin all simply shuffled out of the room after that and went on their way.

Neji and Natsuka said their goodbyes to TenTen and began the trek back to the compound. They met their cousin along the way and walked in uncomfortable silence. Natsuka supposed she could have a conversation about the upcoming mission with Hinata, but she really didn't feel like it.

* * *

The three Hyuuga's arrived at the village gate just as the sun was rising. There were several teams already there, as well as a huge train of merchant wagons. People strolled about, getting ready to leave.

Several minutes later, after everyone had arrived, they began their journey. She heard a comment from one of Hatake's students. Apparently, it was an absolute shock for him to be on time to anything. Evidently they had that in common.

The first week of travel went smoothly and without delay. Natsuka was rather bored. All they did everyday was walk along the side of the wagons. Some of the other Genin were having a grand time making friends with all the merchants, especially that Uzumaki kid. She remembered his name was Naruto. Natsuka, being as reserved as she was, was not prone to making friends easily. She'd only conversed with anyone besides her own team a handful of times throughout the week. She decided though, that most of the Genin weren't so bad. Rather loud and obnoxious, definitely, but seemingly good kids.

The landscape had slowly changed throughout the week and drifted into a scene more characteristic to that of the Wind Country. Leaves fell and trees disappeared, as sand and desert took their places. They'd just crossed the border into the allied country yesterday.

The only good thing to come of the mission so far was that it gave her an opportunity to practice with her sight. It was decided when the mission began that since there was practically a plethora of Hyuuga's accompanying them, (three, wow) they could properly utilize the Byakugan. One of them would have it activated at all times, besides at night when they stopped to camp. The Jounin sensei always took turns keeping watch while the Genin and merchants all slept.

Neji and Natsuka took turns most days, each activating their Byakugan for a few hours at a time. Hinata had only used hers a number of times. It was no secret that the girl's sight was much weaker than their own, and she couldn't hide her embarrassment from it. Natsuka sighed and recalled a night from a week ago, the day before they left the village.

* * *

 _The_ _y'd returned home from the Hokage tower and begun packing immediately. It would be a nearly month long mission, after all. Later that evening, Hiashi summoned she and Neji to his private office. It was just the three of them. He was sitting at his desk with his hands folded delicately in his lap. Natsuka and Neji remained standing. They could not sit unless given permission._

" _The three of you are going on a mission outside the village tomorrow." It was a statement, not a question._

" _Hai, Hiashi-sama." They both replied anyway._

" _I have no doubt that it will be a successful mission with the two of you there. However, I have decided to allow Hinata on this mission for just this reason. My daughter needs the experience that she could gain from this mission desperately. She has shown improvement in recent months but it is not nearly enough. She is still weak." He was looking at them both closely. His words were cold and finite._

" _it is imperative that my daughter succeed on this mission. You will help her do that, and protect her along the way should the need arise." He took a breath. "Do not forget that she is the heir." Not his daughter. The heir. "It is unlikely that you will run into trouble on a simple envoy mission to Suna. But should the need arise, you will protect her."_

 _The twins nodded gravely at their clan head. It was a responsibility that they'd been given at birth. Protect the heir. They bowed, and Hiashi dismissed them with a wave of his hand. They left the room in silence._

* * *

Natsuka's eyes drooped even lower than usual and she let out a sigh. So far, the young heiress hadn't proven to be very useful. Her Byakugan was no help with her limited sight. Enemies would be upon them before anyone could even shout a warning if they were forced to rely only on her.

She didn't know how she was going to report to Hiashi on Hinata's success if the girl didn't do anything. She already knew Neji would have a scathing, yet polite report to give no matter what. She turned to glance at her brother and noted his bloodline limit was still activated. They'd likely stop for the day before she had to take another turn.

A few hours later, the sun was beginning to set when one of the Jounin, she believed his name was Asuma, called for them to halt. They would set up camp for the evening here, apparently. In the middle of a dune. Lovely.

They hadn't ventured far enough into the country yet for the heat to affect them, but she knew it would only be a matter of time. And the nights would only get colder and colder. Natsuka sighed again and wondered how Neji felt about the prospect of cuddling for warmth. She snorted and shook her head. An affectionate Neji was something she would only see in her dreams.

"YOSH! What a wonderful place to make camp for the night. I have brought the needed supplies for smores!" The very sudden, very loud voice startled Natsuka out of her musings so badly that she actually tripped over her own feet. She quickly glanced around to make sure no one had noticed, only to see a face with a pair of onyx eyes smirking at her. _Damn Uchiha._

"Gai-sensei." She muttered sullenly.

"Suka chibi-chan! What a wonderful sight, are you feeling very youthful on this fine evening?" The green blob blinded her with his shiny smile. She slumped and let out a huff of annoyance.

"Sensei, please. I am not short." She said this with her arms crossed, a look of utter contempt on her face. Why did her sensei have to embarrass her like this in front of all these younger Genin?

He only laughed though, and skipped over to Kakashi and began speaking to him quietly. Quietly, that is, for Gai-sensei.

"Nice." She turned to her right to see her brother standing a few feet away. He'd apparently witnessed that whole shenanigan.

"Very nice." She turned to her left to see TenTen. She groaned. "TenTen-chan, please! You two need to stop encouraging him. You only laugh when you're not the focus of his torture. It's not fair." She actually stamped her foot.

"Oh please. Last week he saw me buying groceries and discussing oranges with the produce boy. He stopped and boasted to us both about the youth of young love for a good ten minutes. I can't ever visit that market again. I think I win this one." TenTen said solemnly.

They all winced. Their eccentric sensei could definitely take things too far sometimes.

All of a sudden, everything stopped.

Well, not everything. Not even everyone. Natsuka wouldn't have noticed a thing if she weren't trained to notice such behavior, but she was. All at one moment, all of the Jounin around them simply _stopped_ what they were doing.

Asuma was helping a merchant unload a few supplies and stopped with his arms full of bags mid-air. Kurenai was setting up a tent when she suddenly dropped the entire thing and stood up. Kakashi and Gai each stopped talking, mid-sentence. They all turned to face one direction, the northeast, and began to look very troubled.

Natsuka got a bad feeling in her gut. She looked to Neji, who'd just deactivated his Byakugan a moment ago. They had a brief moment of understanding and then they both turned to the same direction all the sensei were facing.

"Byakugan!" They spoke simultaneously.

The world cleared and all other senses faded as they each focused on what they were seeing. It took her a moment to count, but when she did, she gasped audibly. All the Genin, who'd by now sensed that something was wrong, turned to her.

"How many?" The voice came from Kakashi. He didn't look at her.

"Thirty-seven chakra signatures." Neji answered for her in a calm voice. Only she and TenTen noticed the slight quiver in his voice. After a few moments, he spoke again.

"Four and half miles. Eleven are undoubtedly Jounin. The rest are Chunin or below."

She gulped. She saw exactly what her brother did. The signatures were obviously aggressive, and moving fast. Enemy shinobi.

"They'll be here in minutes." She said. She distantly noticed that her voice was not as calm as her twin's.

The Jounin abruptly sprung into motion. Asuma and Kurenai began shouting at the merchants while Gai and Kakashi began talking to each other again. The conversation was not light and friendly this time. They were talking strategy.

Natsuka's mind rapidly thought through the situation. There were dozens of merchants in their care, and thirty-seven enemies approaching. The other Genin remained frozen around her. The Nara boy was muttering something about troublesome missions.

Asuma approached them. "We're separating into two groups. Don't want to be cattle to the slaughter." He said sternly. She really didn't think his language choice was helping matter. "Team 10, Team.. he glanced over at herself and her two teammates and paused for a moment. "Team Gai is fine," she offered.

"Right. Team 10 and Team Gai. Report to the other camp." He pointed to another dune about a hundred yards away where Kurenai was already shuffling merchants around. "Team 7, Team 8, remain here. Do not venture past the barricade of the wagons. Stay close to the merchants, and remember the mission."

 _Are we really not going to discuss_ _the fact that we're gravely outnumbered?_ Natsuka wondered.

Asuma flashed them all a smile. She belatedly realized that he was rather handsome. "Stay calm, and stay close. We'll handle this." He looked towards her again. "How far?"

With her eyes still activated, she looked to the direction of the approaching nin. "Less than five minutes," she answered a bit shakily.

"Alright. Get moving!" He barked.

"Hai!" They replied as one, and the six of them assigned to the other camp quickly moved away. She passed the teams remaining where they were on her way and noted all their pensive looks. Even the usually loud and boisterous Uzumaki was noticeably anxious. Natsuka recalled what she'd overheard about them having some sort of mission outside the mission just a month prior that had gone terribly wrong and been upgraded to an A rank. She wondered if the current scenario was bringing him bad memories.

She hadn't yet deactivated her eyes and doubted she would for a while. A quick look at Neji confirmed he was in the same boat. As they moved quickly, some of her adrenaline faded for a moment and she allowed a trickle of panic into her mind.

Thirty-seven chakra signatures. Thirty-seven enemies.

What were they going to do?


	3. Chapter 3

Authors Note: Happy holidays! This chapter was super fun to write. It was originally going to be super long (about double what it is) but I decided the ending was fitting as it was. On a side note, shoutout to the author Invincible Shadow. Their stories "Pulling My Weight" and "one small change" are pretty awesome.

On to the chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Chapter 3: Dusk

 _Now I'm a ghost, I call your name, you look right through me_

* * *

The run across the dunes to the other camp was silent and wrought with tension. None of the six young Genin spoke. They arrived to see merchants still fumbling around. Several were wracking through their bags, and even more were jumping up to hide in their wagons or underneath them. Panicking. They were panicking. She sighed. Hiding would do them no good here.

Natsuka brushed a thin strand of dark hair that had escaped her braid behind her ear. She reached up to her face and nervously adjusted her hitai-ate. Team Gai had just arrived to the other camp. She could see the other group far off in the distance, and between each and still a couple of miles away, the approaching nin. They were not yet visible, but it would not be long. She saw her cousin standing near Kurenai, who was still barking orders. Hinata looked tense and had her hands clasped together. Her short bangs did not cover her wide, terrified eyes. She was flanked on either side by her two teammates.

She silently questioned if the decision to put all of the Hyuuga's together was a wise one, and then wondered it if was done on purpose. Just how many people knew about she and Neji's situation and their responsibilities to the clan? She caught her brother's eye, and as one they moved towards their cousin. TenTen silently followed. They would stick together.

"Team Gai," Kurenai spoke. "Surround the wagons. Branch out, but stay close. Stay within the vicinity of Asuma and I."

The other Jounin suddenly blinked into existence as if he'd heard his name spoken. He clenched his fists, and the silver bars across his knuckles gleamed when they caught the light. Kurenai stood tall with her feet apart and arms crossed. Neither of them looked nervous. They were ready for a fight. She wished she could have that much confidence.

 _Thirty-seven signatures._

"I demand to know the meaning of this!" The shout came from a gruff voice. She turned to see a rather burly looking merchant with scraggly graying hair looking at the two older nin.

"We are being ambushed, sir." Kurenai stated bluntly. Natsuka really admired her ability to stay calm, given the situation.

"I bloody well realized that! What I want to know is why we're being ambushed! Who would be after a band of merchants? We're selling and trading supplies! Why would any ninja care about us?" The merchant cut off his rant with a deep wheezing breath and shook his head. "This is _your_ fault!" He pointed a long finger in the general direction of the ninja.

" _Yeah!"_ Came several other rowdy yells.

Before anyone could reply, her brother spoke up. "We were hired to protect you, because you are unable to protect yourselves. The odds of running into enemies during the course of this mission were minimal. No one besides our own village should know where we are, and who we are with. If anything, we are being ambushed because of one of _you_."

She silently agreed with her twin. She had no idea who the approaching nin were, but this was only a simple escort mission. Perhaps one of their charges was involved in shady business, or had run into trouble with another country. Perhaps one of their charges was a criminal. A lance of anger shot through her. They might _die_ because a spineless client had lied.

The merchant who'd spoken looked positively flabbergasted. "Why you… you brat! How dare you speak to me that way. You're just a kid!"

Neji sneered and looked like he was about to say something rather rude, when Asuma interrupted.

"Enough." His commanding voice was enough to silence everyone. "Do you really think any of that matters right now? We're about to be attacked, and blame is not going to help any of us get out of this alive." Even the merchant who first spoke up seemed petulant at that; he looked away sheepishly.

 _Thirty-seven signatures._

"Everyone. Prepare yourselves. Be defensive, and hold your ground. Defend the clients and defend each other. We've sent a message to Konoha and help is on the way."

 _Yeah right,_ Natsuka thought. They'd been travelling for a week. There was not a chance that help would arrive in time.

The shinobi spread out, surrounding the merchants. Neji and Natsuka arranged themselves to stand on either side of their cousin, pushing her teammates aside. The Aburame stood on her other side, with the Inuzuka beside him.

 _Their names are Shino and Kiba_ , she reminded herself. It wouldn't do to not know the names of the comrades she was very likely about to die beside.

TenTen stood next to Neji.

Natsuka was painfully aware of the large gaps between all of them. Too many merchants, not enough ninja. Too much space. How would they protect their charges? How would they protect _each other?_

No time for a last chat, or even a quick goodbye. The best she could do was give TenTen a look and shoot her brother a look of understanding. No matter what happened, it would be alright.

She was cut off from her musings by the sound of quick footfalls in the distance. The enemy had arrived.

* * *

The first thing she noticed with her enhanced vision were the headbands.

" _Iwa_." Her brother hissed.

Asuma and Kurenai shot a quick glance to each other with wide eyes. What did they know?

Suddenly and without warning, the pack of approaching enemies that seemed as huge as an army leaped apart and divided in two in the span of a second. Natsuka very guiltily felt a moment of relief so intense that it stunned her when she realized that the group heading straight for them was smaller than the other.

That relief shriveled up when she remembered her own sensei was across the way, about to face off with twenty-two Iwa nin. She didn't know much about Iwa, other than the fact they were most definitely _not_ allies and that were known to be brutal savages on the battle field.

She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "Hinata-sama, stay behind us." Her cousin looked at her with wide eyes. She couldn't recall the last time she'd addressed the girl so formally when not in the presence of her father.

Thirty-seven signatures. Now fifteen. Eight Jounin level or higher. Why did the stronger ones come this way?

And then the battle began without even a shout.

A kunai whizzed through the air and Natsuka merely shifted her head a few inches to the right to avoid a slice to the cheek.

Six strong signatures engaged Asuma and Kurenai. She would've felt a moment of blind terror for them if not for the dozen shuriken now hurtling towards her. The remaining enemy were left to the Genin. Nine to six.

A shuriken grazed Hinata's sleeve, and it tore wide open.

" _Move!_ " She shouted. They both leaped out of the way just in time to evade a boulder hurtling at them.

A boulder? They were in the desert, for Kami's-sake!

Out of the corner of her eye she could see her brother engaged with two nin. One of them appeared to be holding his left arm at an awkward angle. It didn't seem to be working correctly. She smirked. He'd already done some damage with his juuken.

She just barely had time to see TenTen unrolling a weapon's scroll when a fist knocked into her face and caused her to fall flat on her back. _Damn_. Faster than anyone could blink, she used the momentum in her legs to pull herself back up. She couldn't afford to be distracted. She'd have to trust her teammates to look after themselves.

Hinata, closest to her, was engaging in a taijutsu battle with a tall lanky nin. Two others were preparing to attack, a man and a woman.

 _Protect the heir._

An overwhelming sense of urgency overtook her mind. Before they could do anything, she flung three kunai with perfect precision at the woman and used the moment of distraction to move in close to the man.

He saw her coming, but that wouldn't save him. She moved as fast as her feet would take her and lifted her palms in preparation. He seemed to only then notice her eyes and his own widened in realization. Yes, getting close to her would be very unwise. Too bad that's exactly what was about to happen. He shifted on his feet as if to move away, but it was too late. "Gentle Fist: Tenketsu Needle!"

Her pointer and middle finger stabbed into his solar plexus with no forgiveness. He immediately fell to the ground as he lost control of his chakra and his legs gave out. Without sparing a moment, she thrust a hand into her kunai pouch and brought it out in a swipe across the man's throat.

His head hit the ground and he lay twisted at an odd angle, trying to croak in a breath that would never come. Then his eyes widened glazed over, and he stilled. The hand Natsuka only just noticed was gripping a short sword loosened, and she knew he was dead. A pool of blood slowly seeped out beneath him.

Before she could contemplate what had just happened, she blinked as pain pierced through her arm. She looked down to see blood dripping sluggishly from her left bicep.

"Natsuka!" Her brother's voice. She looked up to see him rushing her way. She saw his first opponent on the ground and the nin Hinata was fighting not much farther away. Neither of them were moving. He reached her side, a wad of gauze already in his hand. He hastily wrapped her arm with shaky hands, and then they turned to face their heir. She was standing a few feet away looking at them and shivering.

Natsuka glanced at the body at her cousin's feet. Her brother answered her silent question. "I took care of it."

Her eyes widened in sudden realization. _The woman._

Whizzing metal rushed towards them. She brought out a kunai to deflect the shuriken just in time. One pierced Hinata's shoulder, and she let out a yelp as blood began trickling down.

"Damn it." Neji cursed harshly.

The enemy kunoichi landed gracefully on the ground several yards away from them. She straightened up and gave them all a rather frightening smile. She was a hideous sight; scars slashed across her face and her brown hair was a mass of dirty dreadlocks cascading down her back. The look in her eyes chilled Natsuka to her core.

"Look what we have here. Three Hyuuga! Oh, what a goldmine we've found today." Her smile widened, and she snapped her pointy teeth at them. Hinata gasped.

Natsuka's kekkei genkai allowed her to see the woman's chakra network. She gulped when she saw its size. Her chakra swirled around her body violently and chaotically. This woman was different from the other shinobi they'd faced thus far.

The woman continued speaking. "Ha! Ha! HA!" She wheezed out a few laughs. "I can't wait; oh I can't wait." She clenched her fists to her stomach as more laughter escaped her throat.

Oh. So they'd gotten a crazy one. Natsuka sighed and lifted her eyes to the sky.

"Uhhhh…" She said.

Hinata was staring wide eyed at the woman, and her brother had merely raised an eyebrow.

Suddenly, the air turned frigid, if that was possible in the desert. It was as if all the heat had been leeched out of the area all at once. They each stiffened with a tension they couldn't control.

In front of them, the woman had straightened. Natsuka noticed that she was quite tall. That, combined with her rather gangly limbs and torn up face, made her look positively demonic.

She had stopped laughing and was merely staring at them expressionlessly.

Then she gave one more small chuckle and said cheerily, "Well let's get to it then!"

And before they could blink, she was upon them. Natsuka noted that she was much faster than herself or even her brother.

She blinked into existence directly in front of them and reached out a hand towards Hinata, who was standing between the twins. Before she could make contact though, Neji and Natsuka sprang into action.

Lightning quick, her own arm flashed out to grab the woman's. She held it in a punishing grip as her brother grabbed her other arm. As one, they leaped into the air, carrying the kunoichi with them.

Though they didn't see it, as the woman was pulled back and into the air by both her arms, she stretched out her neck and snapped her teeth again, coming within inches of Hinata's face. The girl instinctively rushed back and tripped over her own feet. She landed awkwardly on the ground and did not get up right away.

Before they'd even landed on the ground again, Neji and Natsuka delivered punishing strikes to the woman's sides in quick succession. She was about to deliver a harsh blow to her right shoulder when the woman suddenly seemed to come back to her senses. She twisted her body into an angle Natsuka didn't believe was physically possible, and before she could react, a leg shot out and stabbed into her neck. She was thrown back and landed in a heap on the ground. The wind was knocked out of her so harshly that she could do nothing but lay still for a moment and stare up at the darkening sky.

Neji and the woman landed a few feet away and immediately started moving. Natsuka slowly lifted herself up, coughing and taking shallow breaths. Farther away, Hinata was just getting to her feet as well.

"Stay there, Hinata. Watch our backs." She croaked out the words, and didn't even spare the heir a glance as she leaped back into the fray. This was not a fight that her cousin could handle, and it was not worth the risk for her to get involved.

Neji and the woman were engaged in a taijutsu match, and her brother wordlessly gave her an opening in one fluid movement. He ducked behind the woman as she was throwing a punch and Natsuka took his place, catching the fist in her own and throwing that arm out to the side as she brought her own fist up and punched the woman straight in the trachea.

There wasn't enough force behind the blow to do serious damage, mostly because she'd done it out of haste and anger. That kick had _hurt_ , after all.

Regardless, the woman was knocked back into her brother and stuttered out a few hacking breaths. Her brother then clenched his arms around her in a chokehold, and just as Natsuka was moving in to deliver jabs to a few key tenketsu points that would render her useless, the woman spoke in a rush of words.

"Earth Release: Mud Body Technique!" A hoard of mud then seemed to erupt from the woman's own body, and Natsuka's hand met a wall of sticky mud instead of the chakra network she had been aiming for. She was so surprised that she barely managed to move away in time to avoid being engulfed by the mass as it continued to expand.

Before they could react, the huge figure of mud slid below them and branched out across the ground. Natsuka nearly tripped on the substance before she regained her balance. The mud continued spreading and thinning out until all at once it completely disappeared. It had all taken place in a matter of seconds.

She quickly expanded her senses and looked in all directions, but it was no use. The woman was gone. Neji was nearly entirely covered in mud. He was glancing around like her, and had a rather disgusted look on his face.

"Did she… run? But why?" She asked. It did not make sense for their enemy to flee. The battle had only just begun.

But there was no time to dwell on the matter. With eyes that could see everything, she caught a glimpse of steel behind her and noted Asuma and Kurenai still engaged in fights of their own. TenTen was with them. She allowed herself a short sigh of relief as tension she didn't realize she was carrying dropped from her shoulders.

She did not see any serious injuries on their side. However, she was unable to waste time to look across the sand to see how their counterparts were doing against the larger group.

"Hinata!" It was the dog boy, Kiba. He'd suddenly rushed to their sides. "Stay close to us!"

How wonderful that they'd only just decided to make appearances. She did notice, though, that Kiba looked rather torn up. His eyes appeared to be swelling and there was blood trickling down his nose. His was limping on his left leg.

"That won't be necessary." Neji stated coolly.

"What the hell are you talking about!" Natsuka was starting to see similarities in this boy and Naruto. "She's our teammate, and we're gonna look after her!" Shino appeared at his side, and he nodded silently. He didn't appear to be seriously injured, but he looked a little worse for wear with shallow scratches covering what little skin was visible and rips throughout his clothing.

While they continued to bicker, she looked at her surroundings. Blood everywhere. Bodies lay at their feet. She noticed distantly that they were mostly merchants. She then noted even more distantly that she'd completely forgotten about the responsibilities of their mission. She'd forgotten about their charges altogether.

Before anymore argument could ensue, she decided to interrupt. " _Listen_. It's our job to look out for Hinata-sama, so let us do it. You can help, but don't you dare get in our way." Talking back to Neji was one thing, but something on her face must have caused him to realize that trying to argue with her right now was not going to end well for him.

Before they could do anything else, though, a mountain hit them all in the face.

Ok, maybe not a mountain, but something akin to it. It was some sort of jutsu; it was like a sandstorm but with _rocks_.

With no time to waste, they quickly leaped away in different directions as Natsuka felt tiny rocks rip through her clothing and tear her skin. She hissed and kept moving. Just how big was this jutsu anyway? Was she stuck in a tornado of rocks?

She leaped and dodged and ran for what seemed like forever before she felt a burst of fresh air and realized she'd made it out of the worst of the destruction. She turned to see that the jutsu appeared the be ending, but it'd left an ocean of sand and dust in its wake. Without a Byakugan, no one would be able to see anything. She quickly focused her eyes.

There. About a hundred feet away. Several signatures. Right now, _everyone's_ signature was aggressive. She couldn't tell if they were friend or foe. And in the opposite direction, but farther away, several more signatures. She could barely discern the different sizes. She simply couldn't tell who was who. She would recognize her brother's signature anywhere, but _it wasn't anywhere nearby_. Natsuka did now allow herself to think about what that may mean.

She gritted her teeth while she tried to figure out what to do. After a long moment of contemplation, she moved towards the closer group.

* * *

Across the dunes, another group of shinobi battled it out.

"Hah!" Shouted a voice, much too enthusiastic for the events unfolding. "That's four for me Kakashi!" Gai said as he let the body of the woman whose neck he'd just twisted ninety degrees drop to the ground.

"Five." Another voice answered emotionlessly. Kakashi wiped his hands on his vest, as if he could just wipe off the mess on his hands from the chidori he'd just thrust through a man's stomach.

They were feeling rather cheery about their odds, given the enemy seemed to be remarkably weaker than expected, when a large quake shook the ground. Both men turned to see a wave of boulders and sand in the distance begin to fill the sky. It was a mass hundreds of feet wide, and so thick that it could not be seen through.

"Kami." Kakashi said, a hint of emotion peeking into his voice. Shock. And panic.

"It must be miles wide." Gai muttered.

What was going on over there?

* * *

Natsuka arrived upon the other group, the haze just clearing enough for her to properly see the predicament she'd just landed herself in.

In front of her was her cousin. And surrounding her cousin were three enemy nin. Up close, she could see their volatile chakra networks. With widening eyes, she saw that one of the nin was the same woman they'd fought earlier.

There was no one else within the vicinity. They were alone.

The two other Iwa shinobi, both men, had the same eerily cheerful smiles that the woman did. As one, the three of them looked in her direction and Natsuka knew she'd been seen.

"N-Natsuka.." Hinata wshipered. Her eyes were so wide, and so afraid. Her Byakugan was not activated, she noticed.

"Ah!" One of the men clapped his hands together. He had shorn dark hair and gray eyes. "How nice of you to join us, Hyuuga-chan!"

She couldn't resist the sneer that overtook her face. "I don't recall saying you could speak to me like that." Her voice was only slightly quivering.

The man just continued smiling. His two counterparts remained quiet. The other man, who hadn't spoken at all, lifted a hand and waved to her when she glanced his way. He had gray eyes too, but white hair. It was a bright contrast to his dark skin.

"But why not, chibi-chan! We're going to get to know each other so well in the next while, don't you think?"

She did not think that, actually. She didn't really know what he meant either. Her jaw was clenched almost painfully and her thoughts were becoming muddled as panic set in. She had to stay calm.

 _Where was Neji? Where was anyone?_

She took a deep breath. These shinobi were not here to talk. She didn't know why they'd come, or what they wanted, but none of that mattered right now. What mattered was that the heir to the Hyuuga clan was currently surrounded by enemy nin, and it was Natsuka's job to protect her.

 _Protect the heir._

She decided the best course of action would be to attack first. There was no point in delaying the inevitable fight.

Before she could do anything though, a figure appeared at her side. It was her brother.

"Neji." The word was like a savior. Suddenly, she felt a burst of hope enter her chest. Her brother was here. Her brother would help her.

He glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. She noticed how haggard he looked. "I was momentarily knocked unconscious by the blast." He looked regretful. She quickly analyzed his chakra network and saw that his reserves were lower than they should be. Her eyes tightened.

She nodded, and as one they turned towards the enemy, who appeared to be moving in on Hinata. The girl looked so small and frail in the midst of the Iwa nin.

Well, that just wouldn't do. Natsuka braced herself, and then the twins rushed into battle, together.

* * *

A platoon of black cloaked Anbu rushed through the forest. Word had just come in, from a ninken by the name of Pakkun, that multiple squads of Genin and a large group of civilians were being ambushed. By Iwa, no less. It was an alarming discovery that sent the higher-ups in the village into a panicked frenzy.

The air was wrought with tension, as the elite ninja focused on the task at hand. There would be no break, no time to stop. This was a rescue mission and it was imperative that they made haste. They had a long distance to cover, and virtually no time to do it.

A short distance ahead of the rest of the platoon was a single Anbu squad, moving fast. Though no one could tell just by looking, the young man in the very front felt remarkably more tense than the rest. After all, his little brother was amongst the squads being ambushed.

* * *

Natsuka panted out ragged breaths. They'd been fighting for what felt like an eternity, but she knew it couldn't have been more than an hour. She'd realized some time ago that she'd been mistaken in assuming the huge rock storm jutsu was over. A dusty haze surrounded them as far as she could see and rocks could still be seen floating through the air on occasion. She wondered how large of a chakra reserve someone must have to maintain such a massive jutsu for so long.

She'd been force to shut off her Byakugan some time ago for the sake of maintaining chakra.

Neji had yet to deactivate his, and she was growing more worried by the second. She could no longer see his reserves but she _knew_ he was running dangerously low on chakra. She deeply wanted to tell her brother to ease off and be more frugal with his energy, but she could not let the enemy know of his predicament.

Natsuka herself was beginning to run low; they all were.

In the last hour Hinata had become a force of nature. She'd shown remarkable strength in a show of bravery that Natsuka didn't realize the girl was capable of. Together, they'd defeated the chatty dark haired man. They'd come together in a fluid moment of synchronization that she thought would only ever be possible with her own brother. While Neji faced off with the other two nin alone, she and Hinata harmonized the Eight Trigrams: Thirty-Two Palms. The rapid and consecutive strikes were ended with a twin jab straight to his heart, stopping it instantly.

It had cost them though. Hinata was all but empty of chakra and Neji had sustained serious injuries during his brief solo fight. She'd turned to her brother to see a gaping wound near his left forearm. The woman had created something akin to a mace using her rock jutsu. _A weapon made of stone._ She'd clubbed her brother with such ferocity that she could see bits of bone poking through his arm.

That had been a while ago. The remaining five shinobi had been tentatively circling around each other since then. Neji's face was paler than usual and his breath was getting shallow. Natsuka wasn't worried about blood loss because of how slow the blood was flowing. It was suspiciously sluggish. The man and woman didn't seem to want to get close to them, even with Neji out of commission. They'd seen how quick they were to disable their dead comrade. She guessed that they weren't aware of Hinata's insufficient chakra; she'd be unable to utilize her juuken at this point. That left her. Against the two of them.

There was no other way to end this battle than to employ the Gentle Fist. Their enemy was faster; they could not run. Their enemy was more powerful; they could not rely on brute force. The only means to an end was rendering them immobile.

She truly did not know if she had enough chakra remaining for the Sixty-Four Palms. If she could get close enough, she could keep going until she ran out. But she had to _get_ there. Speed was an issue; at this point they were all low on energy but the enemy was still faster. She needed Neji or Hinata's help.

She looked to Hinata. The girl was barely on her feet. Her eyes were half closed.

She looked to her brother, only to see him looking back at her. "Natsuka." He wheezed out. "I've got your back." Only her twin could know what she was planning before she knew herself.

The man and woman continued circling them carefully, snapping their teeth on occasion. Natsuka made the split decision to target the woman, deeming her to be the greater danger.

She took a deep breath and dredged up some energy from the depths of herself and focused her remaining chakra. She allowed a tiny chunk of chakra to stick to her feet.

She'd need to be fast.

"Byakugan!" The world came into focus once again.

She allowed a small smile to grace her face. "Hmph. Alright!" and they sprang into motion.

"Eight Trigrams Empty Palms!" Neji shouted. The attack was perfectly aimed with his Byakugan still activated. He thrust his working arm towards the man, palm out. Then an immense mass of chakra burst from his chakra points all at once. The man was flung into the air instantly, and Natsuka used the moment of distraction to begin her assault.

By the time the woman's eyes flicked from her comrade back to the Genin, Natsuka was right in front of her.

"Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms!" Without a moment of hesitation, she attacked.

 _Two consecutive strikes to make two._

The woman snarled as both her arms drooped towards the ground, useless now.

 _Another to make four._

She dropped to a knee.

 _Four to make eight._

She huffed a rapid breath.

 _Eight to make sixteen._

Only the woman's head remained upright.

 _Sixteen to make thirty-two._

Natsuka realized too late that she'd reached the bottom of her reserves. But her momentum was too great to stop now.

 _Thirty-two to make sixty-four._

Her Byakugan faded the moment the jutsu ended.

The woman collapsed entirely. Unmoving.

With the last vestiges of her strength she leaped back several feet, only to drop to a knee. That had taken everything she had left.

She looked to her brother, who seemed to have fallen flat on his back at some point. That last attack had been more than he should've been capable to give. There was blood trickling down his lips and he was absolutely covered in bruises. She didn't need her kekkei genkai to know that he was more than out of chakra. With one last choked breath, he fell into unconsciousness. His bloody and broken arm still twitched ever so slightly.

She remained kneeling and let out a deep sigh, and knew it wouldn't be long till she also collapsed. She felt a moment of relief though and began to relax. It was over. They'd be alright. Neji was suffering from intense chakra exhaustion and a badly broken arm, but _they'd be alright_. She let her head fall back and looked up into the now dark sky. The moonlight illuminated the remaining haze. Her eyes began to droop.

Just before she fell asleep, she heard a sickening _squelch_.

Slowly, as if in a daze, she turned her head towards the sound.

There. Just a few feet away. Hinata stood with her back to Natsuka. The girl's arms had fallen limply to her sides and her knees were quivering badly. She frowned, confused at the spot of red rapidly spreading across her cousin's shirt.

Over her shoulder, she met the eyes of the white haired man. He grinned viciously at her.

Another squelch, and the sword that had just gone through her cousin's back was ripped out.

He then drew it in a wide horizontal arc, and Natsuka didn't know what had happened until she saw Hinata's intestines fall into the dust.

She fell to the ground, face forward. Natsuka was beyond comprehending anything at this point. A niggling voice at the back of her head screamed at her _. How could you let this happen? How could you forget about the other man?_

Natsuka had just assumed that her brother had taken care of the man with white hair. She'd been so finitely exhausted after defeating the woman that she hadn't thought about checking the perimeter.

She hadn't thought about anything.

 _Protect the heir._

The last thing she saw as darkness surrounded her were ominous footsteps heading her way. One last, sleepy blink, and then she knew no more.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 4: Consequences

 _If the bombs go off the sun will still be shining_

* * *

The moon was the first thing she saw when her eyes opened. She came back to the world of the living in a daze of confusion and a world of hurt. She had no idea how long she'd been out. She blinked blearily to clear her vision and let out a wet cough. There wasn't a single part of her body that didn't hurt.

Slowly and cautiously she rose into a sitting position. That's when all of the night's previous events caught up to her and she fell back to the ground in a heap.

" _Oh Kami_." The words were croaked out.

In her mind, all she heard was a loud ringing. Her thoughts were drowned out by a dull throbbing. The moment she attempted to process a single thought, what felt like a sharp knife stabbed through her brain and everything blanked out once again. She simply could not comprehend the situation.

She struggled to her side and looked around with dazed eyes. Another cough, and blood splattered the ground next to her face.

With black spots filling her line of sight, she crawled at a snail's pace towards her cousin's body. She couldn't think about the pool of red surrounding Hinata. She couldn't think about how still she was, lying face down with her face turned the other way.

Each sluggish movement shot stinging pains throughout her body. She didn't even have the strength to turn her head to where she knew her brother lay.

She finally reached her cousin and sat up heavily on her knees. She could feel her heart thumping in her chest.

Hinata was unmoving. Her pale jacket was now stained a dark red. She realized belatedly that her knees were touching the pool of blood. It was still warm.

Her short, dark mop of hair was all she could see of the girl's face. It swayed in the slight breeze. She absently reached up to brush her own hair behind her back. It had come loose of its braid a while ago. She felt the breeze on her own face and scrunched up her nose when she realized her hitai-ate was not secured to her forehead like it was supposed to be. Her curse mark was on display.

In her mind, she remained blissfully unaware of the severity of the situation. Slowly, she reached out an arm. She latched onto Hinata's shoulder and began to pull. Her teeth clenched as pain filled her arm and she realized she didn't even have enough strength to turn her cousin over. With gritted teeth, she reached both her arms out and clenched the girls arm. She pulled with all her might.

Natsuka's eyes widened in horror when _things_ plopped out of Hinata's midsection and slid out into the sand.

 _Oh._ A flutter of alarm entered her mind as slowly, she began to really wake up. What she was seeing caused a flow of adrenaline to course through her bones, and her wheezing breaths became short and ragged.

Her cousin. Her cousin. Hinata. The heir was dead. _The heir was dead_. The trauma inflicted upon Natsuka's body hadn't allowed her to come to terms with the situation. Now she was. Hinata was actually dead. _Dead_. Her entrails were still sluggishly flowing across the desert floor. The entirety of Natsuka's legs were now covered in blood. Her eyes were glued onto the horrendous site before her and she found it impossible to look away. Her shaking arms slowly drifted to her face and covered her gaping mouth. Her eyes were wide as saucers. Distantly, she heard a high-pitched keening sound and realized it was coming out of her own mouth.

Then her eyes drifted up to Hinata's face. And if possible, the situation got a whole lot worse. Her arms fell to her sides as vomit spewed out of her and covered her lap. It had been an incontrollable reaction. Because there on Hinata's face, where two lavender eyes should have been, were two bloody and gaping holes.

 _The Byakugan had been stolen._ And Hinata's body had been desecrated in the process.

That's when her strength really did give out, and she collapsed beside the dead heir, covered in her own filth.

* * *

Shinobi ambled around the former battleground, seeing to the wounded and cleaning up the mess. Kakashi Hatake and Might Gai were moving around frantically, looking for their students. It was still pitch black outside, but the sun would be rising soon enough.

"Kaka-sensei!" A shaky voice spoke. "Where's Sakura-chan?"

"We'll find her, Naruto. Stay put." The man's Sharingan was on display and he was looking rather haggard. Beside the Uzumaki boy lay his teammate Sasuke Uchiha. He'd passed out from chakra exhaustion.

Gai gave a few short words to Kakashi and blinked out of existence. He hadn't seen any of his students since the fight began. That had been nearly twelve hours ago.

Around them, Anbu paced about. Checking the dead and taking statements. No one could deny the moment of relief they'd all felt upon seeing the elite shinobi arrive, but it'd been far too late. They'd shown up too late to do any good.

Kurenai flashed into existence a few feet away. A girl with twin buns atop her head lay flung over her shoulder. She sat her down gently on the ground and the girl blinked blearily and mumbled a few quiet words. She didn't appear to be coherent. Around them sat several other Genin. Shino Aburame lay unconscious, and next to him a small hoard of medics kneeled working on the body of Kiba Inuzuka. His ninken Akamaru sat a few feet away out of the way of the medics, whimpering.

"Gai-san has left the area to search for his students. It might be imperative to inform him that one has arrived here safely." An Anbu agent spoke up, angled towards Kurenai. She was too busy looking on at her own students with a despondent look on her face to reply, but she wordlessly took off again and disappeared from view. One of her own students was also missing.

Nara Shikamaru sat on the ground, exhausted but relatively unharmed besides a broken foot and shattered kneecap. His teammate Ino was asleep next to him. Blood seeped through the gauze of her hastily wrapped shoulder injury. Asuma was out looking for their third teammate, Chouji.

Farther out, Kakashi met up with Gai as they searched through bodies, looking for anyone who was still alive. Footsteps moved towards them and they both looked up to see Kurenai. "TenTen is alright." She said.

Gai let out a breath as a single tear fell down his eye.

She continued. "There are five Genin still missing."

Kakashi spoke. "We just passed Asuma. He had Chouji." He didn't mention how alarmingly pale and gaunt the young boy had looked. Right now, they had to focus on _finding_ their students. Everything else could wait.

"Sakura, Neji, Natsuka and Hinata are still out there somewhere." It took them all a moment to process that statement, but when they did, each of their eyes widened. Not one, not two, but all three of the Hyuuga children were missing. At best, this was a terrible coincidence. At worst, it was a terrible discovery.

Kurenai spoke again. "The last time I saw them was right before that huge blast went off. It was impossible to see anything after that, and I had three of those bastards on my back." She let out a shaky breath as a terrible look came upon her face. "It's my fault."

" _Stop it, Kurenai_." It was Gai. He hadn't spoken until now. "It's not your fault. None of us knew this would happen."

Nevertheless, the Jounin were each beginning to get a very bad feeling in their guts. Something about this didn't add up. They were only just now beginning to realize that something far more sinister was going on. It was becoming obvious now that this hadn't been a simple ambush.

* * *

A single Anbu squad stood before several bodies. They'd been scouring the area for a couple of hours already, taking a death toll and searching for evidence to bring back to Konoha. They didn't expect to find two minimal chakra signatures this far out into the dunes.

The four nin came upon a rather disturbing site. Three small bodies and one larger one littered the ground. The amount of blood was remarkable. With his Sharingan activated, Itachi easily deduced that two of the children were still alive. He rambled out a short order to Hayate to begin working on one of them, the boy. His heartbeat was much too slow.

Hayate knelt beside the boy whom Itachi now recognized as Neji Hyuuga, and his hands lit up with green chakra. He began taking a diagnostic scan as Itachi moved to the other child. A girl. He frowned. It was the boy's twin, Natsuka. What were two Hyuuga doing this far out, isolated from everyone else?

"Itachi." Came Shisui's unusually solemn voice. He turned to see his cousin looking down upon the last smaller body. Genma was standing beside him. Shishui has his mask lifted over his face and was staring down at the body with red eyes. He had a strange look on his face. "Take a look at this."

"This girl needs immediate medical attention." He stated calmly. Wordlessly, Genma switched places with him as his own hands began to glow. Itachi moved to stand beside his cousin to see what had disturbed him so much. When he saw, his own eyes widened.

There was no point in wasting breath. No words needed to be said when they all knew that it was the Hyuuga heiress laying at their feet, eye sockets gaping up at them. The Anbu agents took no mind to the gore coming out of her middle. Their search and rescue mission had just gotten a lot more complicated.

Itachi allowed his mind to further analyze the situation. Something wasn't right here. He looked around and took note of every detail. The body of the enemy shinobi, a man, relatively free of blood. His eye's allowed him to see the man's disturbed chakra points. The Gentle Fist had been his end.

What didn't make sense, however, were the two small puddles of blood a few feet from the dead man, closer to the children. They looked strange, as if bodies belonged over them but were no longer there. Itachi's eyes tightened. He knew that a single shinobi could not cause this much damage to three Hyuuga, even if they were all Genin.

And to add even more confusion to the chaos, there was something else that Itachi couldn't make sense of.

Only the heiress's eyes had been ripped from her skull. The twin's eyes remained perfectly intact. Even stranger, both of the children's hitai-ate lay at their feet, covered in dust. They'd fallen off, or been taken off. Itachi knew the latter was more than likely the correct scenario. Both of the Hyuuga's curse marks were prominent dispays of ink on their foreheads. This did not bother Itachi; he knew they were branch members.

What bothered him was the fact that whoever had committed this atrocity had decided to only take a single pair of Byakugan eyes when he could have had three. By the looks of things, once the status of the twins had been discovered, their eyes had no longer been wanted. This was problematic, because only a very few select people were supposed to be aware of the mechanics of Byagukan eyes. Only a _very_ few select people were supposed to know that should a branch member of the Hyuuga clan die, their eyes would consequently be destroyed.

Itachi, who when faced with a problem could usually come to a logical conclusion within a matter of minutes, was stumped. Whoever had done this knew far more than they should. And besides that, they hadn't killed the twin Hyuuga's when they easily could have. If they knew that the eyes would be destroyed upon death, why did they bother keeping them alive anyway? Wouldn't it have made more sense to kill them and make sure they were out of the way?

If possible, the lines on Itachi's face deepened further as he frowned. This situation was becoming more and more puzzling by the minute. He sighed as he thought about what would be done about the dead heiress.

Just then, a gurgling noise came from the girl. Genma had pumped enough chakra into her system for it to start flowing properly again, and she was waking up. Itachi felt a brief moment of sympathy for the girl and silently thought that she'd come back to the world of the living far too soon.

* * *

With a hacking cough, Natsuka awoke for a second time. With blurry vision she saw a figure crouched over her. She feebly flailed around for a moment as she struggled to breath properly.

"Easy." A gentle voice said. Natsuka finally took a second to focus on the blur kneeling next to her and realized it was unmistakably a Konoha Anbu agent. Her brain caught up with her body and she forced herself to still her unsteady movements.

"You're ridiculously low on chakra kid. Pretty sure an elderly civilian would have more than you do right now." The agent, definitely a man, continued speaking in a friendly voice. His palms were settled over her chest, flowing green with healing chakra.

Natsuka was failing to appreciate his attempt at humor, and said nothing. Her eyes had drooped to their usual stoop and she looked about ready to fall asleep when the agent reached a hand up and lifted off his mask.

Startled, she glanced at his now uncovered face. He had straight brown hair that fell below his ears, and straight eyebrows that slashed over his chocolate brown eyes. She distantly noticed that he was rather handsome. His eyes looked up into hers now, and he had a stern look on his face.

"I don't know what happened here, kid, but it was real stupid of you to let yourself get all the way to complete chakra exhaustion. Can't defend yourself if you've got nothing left."

She merely blinked droopily at him. She wondered if it would be socially acceptable to go to sleep right now.

As if he could read her mind, he frowned. "Stay with me kid. You're gonna be just fine after we get you patched up. Everything's gonna be alright." His voice had a soothing quality to it, but Natsuka was not fooled.

And she was beginning to get really fed up with everything. So she threw caution to the wind and let herself go.

"Anbu-san." She began. And _wow_ , was that her voice? It was a pained sounding croak, barely above a whisper. "While I _deeply_ appreciate your attempts at lecturing me, I am _really_ not in the mood for it right now." The Anbu slowly retreated his healing hands from her and sat back on his hunches, as if sensing the dam cracking open inside of her.

"What I would appreciate is a damn time machine to take me back to before all this _shit_ happened. What I would appreciate is for you to _get out of my face._ " Slowly, she painfully raised herself up, first onto her backside and then after a few seconds onto her feet. She pitifully fell back onto a knee, but forced herself back up. The Anbu remained crouched in front of her and Natsuka was disappointed to note that she was only about a foot taller than him in their current position. He blinked up at her but didn't say anything. It only spurred her anger further.

"How can you be so cheery! Don't you understand? Look around you, you fool!" Her voice was rising in volume and taking on a crazed edge. She leaned over the crouching Anbu, her face inches from his.

"They're all dead! Everyone. Everyone! She's dead!" She even poked a finger at the man's chest. He still didn't react.

" _Where were you!"_ She straightened up and twirled around in a circle, flailing her arms out wide in a gesture to the other ninja standing around her, whom she'd only just now realized were there.

"You stupid bastards! What are you gonna do, huh? Help us out? It's over, in case you morons couldn't tell! Done. _Finished_." She crossed her hands in a zigzag motion. "Way to show up late for the show!" She let it all out in one big breath.

Shisui was flabbergasted. He couldn't recall the last time he'd seen an angry Hyuuga. Oh wait, he never had.

" _I wasn't trying to defend myself, you idiots! I was supposed to protect her!"_

All of Natsuk'a anger drained out of her in a fickle second when she saw her brother.

"Neji." She whispered. She immediately ran to his side. Or tried to, at least. She fell to her knees halfway there and crawled the rest of the way. When she reached his side she grabbed his face with weak hands. "Neji. Neji. Wake up Neji."

"He's going to be fine." Another Anbu agent spoke to her. He was kneeling next to her brother, glowing palm hovering over his ravaged arm. This one hadn't taken his mask off. "His injuries are mainly external. Other than that he is suffering from extreme chakra exhaustion, like you are."

Natsuka merely blinked at him and looked back down at her twin. Then she froze. The curse mark. Neji's curse mark. It was just… there! For the whole world to see. She felt an overwhelming sense of urgency and looked around frantically, eyes searching every direction.

Where was it? Where was it? Tears began to fill her eyes. There was a tap on her shoulder.

She turned. Another Anbu, this one also with his mask off. She didn't have the energy to be surprised that it was an Uchiha with a gentle look on his face, holding her brother's hitai-ate and her own in his upheld hand. She hadn't even thought about her own headband, until now. She reached a tentative hand up to her forehead, only to feel bare skin. He glanced down at the headbands, and then back up at her. _Take them_ , he seemed to say.

So she did. Snatched them out of his hand, to be more precise. Then she hastily, but gently, wrapped her brother's hitai-ate around his head before messily doing the same to her own.

 _Cover your shame._

All at once the energy she'd felt from the adrenaline coursing through her system during the momentary lapse of anger drained out of her. For the first time since waking, she risked a glance towards her cousin. Her dead cousin. The dead heir. Hinata's empty sockets looked up at the rising sun. They'd never blink again. It was a sight that Natsuka knew would haunt her for a very long time.

And for the third consecutive time, she passed out.

* * *

She woke up the fourth time in a new place. A bland, white ceiling came into focus. The hospital, no doubt. She glanced down and saw that she'd been dressed in a white hospital gown and had wires hooked into each of her arms. A heart monitor stood a few feet away. _Beep. Beep. Beep_.

Then, again, everything came rushing back to her. The heart monitor began beeping in quick succession as her blood pressure climbed. An older looking nurse rushed into the room.

"Oh! Goodness dear, you'll have to settle down!" But she couldn't settle down. Her breaths got faster and faster, and the nurse was saying something but she couldn't hear it. Then she felt a prick in her arm, and a quick sting.

She fell asleep yet again.

* * *

When she awoke _again_ , she forced herself to remain calm. She felt like death. There was a crick in her neck and it cracked when she looked around. She noticed that her hospital room was empty of furnishings save for a bland looking armchair. And in said chair was her brother.

" _Neji_." She said.

His pale eyes opened and he blinked rapidly. He'd been asleep. When he saw her, awake and conscience, he stood up and walked over to her bed.

"Suka." He returned the greeting.

And for a long while, they just stared at each other. Remembering everything that happened, everything they'd done. What they'd failed to do.

"Are you alright, aniki?" She finally spoke, voice frailer than it'd ever been before. He was dressed in hospital garb like herself.

He let out a deep breath. "I'll live." He lifted an arm. The arm that'd been broken. It was bandaged, but looked to be intact. "The hardest part was putting the pieces of my arm back together, but they did all that while I was asleep due to chakra exhaustion. I woke up two days ago and have been stuck on bedrest since then." He looked rather put-out at that last part.

"Where is everyone else? TenTen? Gai-sensei?"

"Both fine."

She was about to say more, ask more, when he spoke again.

"Natsuka… the funeral. It's tomorrow."

She didn't need to be a prodigy to know what he was talking about. The twin Hyuuga siblings looked at each other with wide, frightened, and distraught eyes.

"What… what.. how long have I been out?" She finally asked. She let her head fall into her hands. What a mess things had turned into, so fast.

"A week." Slowly, Neji leaned over and draped an arm across her shoulder.

"Has, you know, has.. has he spoken to you?" Natsuka's voice had become a weak, shrill sound.

"No. I have not seen him. He didn't.. he hasn't been to the hospital." Neji spoke with now gritted teeth.

Deep down, a voice inside Natsuka could only hope that this would be the most difficult conversation she ever had to have. But she knew the worst was yet to come.

Her brother lay his head down on her shoulder, and they remained like that for a long while. Her sitting, him standing. Neither speaking.

"What's going to happen to us aniki?" She spoke after some time. "I'm scared, Neji." It wasn't something she'd easily admitted. Fear was one emotion she'd barely felt out on that battlefield. Terror, maybe. But the adrenaline and panic and chaos hadn't allowed her any room for pure _fear_. She hadn't had time to sit around and contemplate about being _afraid_.

But she did now. And she'd never felt such fear.

Neji ambled up into her bed without a word, with much less grace than he was used to. He wasn't even close to a full recovery yet. They lay side by side. "I can't answer questions I don't know the answer to, Natsuka." She took a moment to really _look_ at her brother. Neji had aged years in the span of a week. He looked thinner, as if he hadn't been eating, and paler than usual. And worst of all, he had the most desperate, despondent look in his eyes.

They didn't talk again after that. After hours of staring at the wall blankly - something Natsuka used to sneer at when she saw Hinata doing it – they fell asleep and didn't wake for a long time.

* * *

The next day, a funeral was held in Konoha. It was for a shinobi. Just one, a little girl. A picture frame stood on top of the casket. It was of a young girl with lavender eyes and short navy hair.

The Hokage spoke, but Natsuka hardly heard a word. He said things about what a travesty it was, what a great loss of potential it was. How devastating the loss of such a young life was. She let her head fall back and glanced up at the sky. Not a cloud to be seen. The sun shone with a brightness that made her eyes water. The sky was not mourning today.

She looked back to earth, back to the sea of black surrounding them. Neji stood next to her, in his own mourning clothes. The twin's stood alone. Almost every important ninja in the village was in attendance. Their Jounin sensei, plus several others. The Konoha 12 in its entirety. The Konoha 11, now. Members of the four noble clans; the entire Hyuuga clan. And the Nara's and Yamanaka's and Inuzuka's. Even a few masked Anbu stood in attendance. The death of a clan heir was a big deal, after all.

Natsuka had been avoiding looking in a certain direction. But there was an itch in her soul, and she felt a pair of familiar eyes locked onto her. The Hokage was still speaking. Natsuka lifted her eyes, already knowing what she would find.

Hiashi stood directly in her field of vision. She hadn't seen her uncle since the morning they'd left the village. Neither had Neji.

They all knew that an inevitable confrontation was going to occur. The only question was when. It hasn't occurred yet because the Hyuuga clan head had not stepped foot into the hospital throughout the entirety of his niece's and nephew's stay.

Natsuka's heart was beating in her chest.

 _Thirty-seven signatures._

He was just staring. Emotionless.

 _Protect the heir._

Despite the lack of expression on her uncle's face, his stare unnerved her to the core and gave her chills to the very soles of her feet.

Facing Hiashi Hyuuga was not something the twins would ever be prepared to do, but they'd been forced to now.

 _Protect the heir._

They hadn't. And they would pay for it.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: These last couple of chapters have been pretty dark huh? I'm gonna have to throw a nice, fluffy filler in soon. :(

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 5: Waking

" _You said, "keep our business on the low-low"_

* * *

 _The girl with empty eye sockets stood. The moonlight illuminated her face, and blood seeped out of the two gaping holes. Body parts that were not meant to be seen were cascading out of her in a macabre sort of skirt. Around them lay bodies. Old men with scraggly gray hair, younger men and women with strong bodies who'd died too soon._

 _Slowly, she lifted an arm and pointed a pale finger._

" _You fault." She hissed._

* * *

With a gasp Natsuka woke up, sitting up quickly in a startled fright. It'd been a week since Hinata's funeral, and the nightmares had plagued her mind ever since. Bird's chirped cheerily in the distance, oblivious to her plight.

A hand gently touched her scalp. Neji. He'd slept in her room since their return to the village.

As far as she knew, his sleep hadn't been interrupted by terrible visions like her own. Natsuka was envious, but she understood. Why would he be affected by guilty dreams when he wasn't guilty? He hadn't done anything wrong, _she had._ Neji had been unconscious when Hinata was killed. She hadn't. She could have done more; should have done more.

The twins hadn't discussed the incident since that day in the hospital. Natsuka wondered if they ever would.

What she didn't know was that her brother was having an internal struggle of his own. Neji had always wholeheartedly believed that it was his fate to be accomplished. To be great. He'd been groomed as a prodigy since birth. He didn't understand how failure was a possibility for someone like him, and he didn't know what to make of it.

They had not seen their uncle since the funeral.

They hadn't seen much of anyone, actually. The twins had spent the majority of their time back in the village isolated from everyone, choosing to only spend time in each other's company. They hadn't left the compound. They did not face any members of their own clan for fear of what they would see. Natsuka had heard from a servant several days earlier that Hiashi had also holed himself up in his private quarter, speaking only to his most trusted advisors.

 _Mourning_ , Natsuka thought. He was mourning. But she knew the time to face her uncle would come soon.

There was a knock on the door. And then, without waiting for permission, the door cracked open and a tiny head came into view.

Hanabi. The child looked terrible. Her face had a gray tint to it and she had deep bags under her eyes. It was a disturbing look for an eight-year-old.

"Hiashi-sama wishes to speak to you." She whispered. "Both of you." Then she turned wordlessly and was gone.

The twins blinked at the door and then looked at each other. Natsuka could feel her heart beating.

They sat up, got out of bed, and felt their joints crack and pop as they stretched. Natsuka was tired, so tired. With her nightmares disturbing her in the evenings, she'd begun to sleep hours at a time during the day.

She let out a sigh, eyes droopy and wrought with exhaustion. Together, they began the walk to meet their fate.

* * *

They sat at the tea table, the same one they'd spent boring mornings at for years. But now instead of five, there were three. Hiashi sat at the head of the table as he always did. But instead of sitting next to her brother like she usually did, Hiashi had wordlessly directed them to sit across from each other when they entered the room. It only served to make Natsuka even more anxious.

Speaking of their uncle, he was currently sitting with his chin resting in his hands, appearing to be in deep contemplation about something. The twins each stared ahead with heads bowed, feeling incredibly uneasy.

The _incident_ , as Natsuka now referred to it in her head, came as a shock. To everyone. An unimaginable, inconceivable shock. A travesty. The twins had been bred since birth for a very specific role. It was, and always would be, their jobs to protect and serve the main house. They'd been taught at a very young age that their own lives were not as important as others. The clan came first.

 _Protect the heir._

Who could've known that they'd fail their most important responsibility, so early on in their lives.

It came as an unexpected problem to everyone. The prospect of losing a clan heir was one thing, but for it to actually happen was another entirely.

After the longest moment of Natsuka's life, her uncle spoke. "This has been an unforeseen dilemma." He spoke gravely, but she absently noticed that his voice didn't really like sound like that of a man who'd just lost his daughter.

"I truly did not expect either of you to fail in your responsibilities. I am incredibly disappointed." Hiashi glanced at each of them, frowning. "I thought I'd trained the two of you better." He huffed out a breath. "It's no matter. We will have to make some… adjustments. But we will continue on and move past this." His eyes were closed. He took a delicate sip from a cup of tea that she only just then realized was there.

Natsuk'a eyes grew incredibly wide. She didn't understand. She met her brother's eyes across the table and saw that he felt the same. Her thoughts were a messy swirl about her head.

"However, under no circumstances will something like this ever occur again. Never embarrass me like that again. You will not like the consequences." If possible their uncles voice became even more frigid, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.

At this point, Natsuka couldn't hold her emotions in check and turned to face her uncle, astounded. Neji did the same, his mouth falling open.

"Hiashi-sama…" She began tentatively, speaking slowly. "What-." She was interrupted as her uncle continued speaking.

"You killed my daughter." It was a blunt statement. A matter of fact.

Everything stopped.

The two siblings gasped in unison. Natsuka froze. Her face went from its usual pale to a ghastly white tint and her eyes went wide as saucers.

"This entire thing has become a stain on the clan's reputation. The _entire village_ will remember it for years to come. You've humiliated me and _it will not happen again_."

"And worst of all, you allowed our precious bloodline limit to be _stolen_. You should be ashamed. You've put our clan and the village at unnecessary risk because of this.

He turned to Neji, who was still as a statue. "You. I expected better from you."

He turned to her, and sneered. "I have never expected great things from you like I do your brother. You've only proven me right."

He took a deep breath and sighed calmly, as if he hadn't just shattered two young and vulnerable minds.

"Hanabi is now the heir. Try not to let anything happen to this one."

Natsuka choked on her own saliva.

"After a lot of thought and discussion with the clan elders, we've made some decisions regarding your futures." He turned to her brother. "Neji. I did not know if I could trust you in this endeavor, but after contemplation I've decided to go ahead with it."

"You will marry Hanabi."

It was Neji's turn to choke.

"At this point, it is the only way to preserve your honor within the clan. And what better way to protect the heir than to be the closest person to her?" He nodded, as if agreeing with himself. "Hanabi has always shown more potential than my oldest daughter. It was only fate for her to eventually succeed her sister. I had hoped it wouldn't happen in such a way, though."

He turned to Natsuka again. "You. It took me a while to figure out what to do with you. But I finally came up with something."

 _Oh kami_ , Natsuka thought. Was he going to have her killed?

"I don't want you here anymore. All the training for you that I put my time and effort into, you wasted. You've never utilized your potential, and you no longer deserve your position."

What position? Her position as a _branch member?_

"I have arranged a union for you. You will marry the Aburame heir."

 _It's worse than death_ , she realized.

"I was lucky to match you with someone of the four noble clans. Fortunately for you the Aburame will take anyone. Shino is the boy's name I believe." He waved a hand in the air, so casual as he dictated her future.

Hiashi finally glanced up from his tea and seemed to take notice of the twins unusually still faces. "Oh, don't be so upset. You will not marry until you both come of age."

Oh, _joy_.

"Now get out. I don't want to see either of you unless you've got something useful to say." Their uncle was clearly done speaking, and dismissed them with another casual wave of his hand.

* * *

A month had passed since the Hyuuga heiress's death. After the meeting with her uncle, Natsuka had come to a few revelations.

One was that her uncle was a terrible man.

She'd never liked Hiashi anyway, but she hadn't hated him. Just like she hadn't hated Hinata, and didn't hate Hanabi.

Natsuka didn't think she'd ever felt hate for anyone, but she did now.

She'd gravely misunderstood her uncle for her entire life. She knew he'd done terrible things, but didn't realize that he was a _truly terrible person_. In the past month she'd grown to resent her own clan even more than she already did.

Her thoughts drifted as she walked throughout the village. It was her first time leaving the compound in weeks, and she'd barely mustered up the energy to do it. She'd barely gotten out of bed, honestly. Her sleep was continually interrupted by horrid nightmares and she'd begun sleeping the days away.

In the back of Natsuka's mind, a very distant part of her realized what was going on. Depression, it was called. Natsuka was suffering from depression. But she couldn't muster up the energy to do anything about it.

Her head fell back to look at the sky. Sunny, with only a few clouds. She blinked slowly and looked back down. Truly, she'd only left the compound because she'd begun to go stir crazy. And more than that, Natsuka was _lonely_.

She'd never had many friends. It was only she and her brother till the academy. Then, later on, she'd considered TenTen and even Gai-sensei to be her friends. And that had been enough for her.

But now, she hadn't seen the other half of her team since that fateful day. They hadn't visited her. Even her own brother had stopped speaking to her.

Natsuka knew that her twin had taken their uncles word's to heart on that day several weeks ago.

" _I expected better from you."_

Not once in his life had Neji been forced to deal with disappointment. He'd never been a disappointment to anyone, and to be so now had nearly crippled him. He spent his days training alone now, and had distanced himself from his sister. He no longer slept in her room, and she knew her brother was avoiding her.

She was lucky to catch a glimpse of him once a day.

She hadn't seen her uncle at all. It seemed he no longer cared what she did with her time.

And so she ambled throughout the village, passing by shops and restaurants. She passed by a dango stand and after some thought, decided to stop. Sweets were her guilty pleasure.

She purchased three sticks, thinking perhaps she could use one as a peace offering to her brother. Maybe he'd deign to speak to her, then. After paying the kind man behind the counter, she continued on. She took a dango stick out of the bag and held it up to her face, contemplating it.

She'd unknowingly stopped walking, and her stomach growled suddenly. Natsuka hadn't realized how hungry she was until that very moment. And after another moment she realized that she couldn't recall the last time she'd eaten.

It was true, the blight of depression was hitting the girl hard. She'd lost weight in recent weeks and nearly looked too thin. There were deep, dark circles under her eyes.

She'd been staring at the dango for a bit too long at this point. With a shrug, she stuffed two of the dango balls into her mouth at once. She was very hungry after all, and really liked dango.

A quiet chuckle could be heard to her right and her head shot up. There, at the edge of the alley she'd stopped by, was a man. Two men, she realized. The one who'd laughed was leaning against the wall in a classic cool-guy position, with his arms crossed and a foot propped onto the wall. There was a senbon hanging out of his mouth.

Natsuka had a sticky ball of dango on each side of her mouth, puffing her cheeks up. Anyone looking at her right then would say she looked like a sickly chipmunk.

"Hungry, kid?" The one with the senbon spoke.

"Uhhhh…"

"Hah! Look at her face, Genma." The other one spoke. "How cute! Come over her chibi-chan, we were just having a chat."

Natsuka began furtively looking around, still chewing. Were these guys up to something shady?

She looked back at them, about to politely decline their offer, when she started and nearly coughed up her snack.

 _It was them._ The two Anbu who'd taken their masks off that day. They were in Jounin attire today. She'd recognize them anywhere though. Against her will, her feet began dragging her forward.

As she came closer she recognized the man with the senbon in his mouth and remembered that she'd shouted into his face and poked him at some point. _Oops_. She cringed.

After finally swallowing her food, she spoke. "Hi?" she squeaked out. Kami, her voice sounded pitiful.

The one who'd just spoken leaned down to her level and looked her in the eyes. Natsuka felt as if he was seeing right through her. She also made a stunning discovery. An Uchiha. His bloodline limit was not activated, but the Uchiha had easily recognizable features, much like her own clan.

An Uchiha had just called her chibi-chan? In such a cheery voice? She wondered which drugs he was abusing.

"You look like a panda!" He spoke again, his voice still overbearingly friendly. He reached out a hand and flicked her on the nose. "Don't you Hyuuga ever sleep?"

She flinched as the reminder of her clan sobered her. "Of course we sleep." She scoffed. "But tell me, _Anbu-san_ , what can I do for you?" It was only then that Natsuka remembered the entirely of the events that had unfolded on that fateful day.

She'd shouted at _Anbu_. What all had she said? Natsuka struggled to recall each rude word she'd called them. _Morons? Idiots? Stupid?_ Definitely at least one of those. And to top it all off she'd just openly admitted to knowing the identity of an Anbu agent. A big no-no in Konoha.

Her musings were cut short by another flick on the nose. "Hey!" She couldn't contain her reaction. "That stings. Could you stop?" A bit of sass leaked through her usually calm tone. She didn't know why this adult-acting-like-a-child man could so easily rile her up.

He just laughed though, and asked "Where does your mind wonder off to, anyway?"

She didn't think it would be wise to mention what'd she just been thinking about. So she gave herself a small shake to clear her head and said politely "Did you need something, Uchiha-san?"

"Well, actually, now that you mention it," Genma spoke up for the first time, "We did have a few questions for you." He flicked his eyes up to meet hers, and once again Natsuka got the distinct feeling that they saw far too much. "Still hungry? There's a great barbecue place just down the street if you don't mind sitting down with us for a while."

Well, she _was_ rather hungry. She'd been in a state of lethargy for quite a while and it seemed as if she was just now waking up.

Genma, as if able to see her reluctance, said "On us, of course."

Without a word, she gestured for them to start walking and show her the way.

* * *

Natsuka finished off her fourth serving of spicy pork with a lick of her fingers.

"I've never seen a Hyuuga eat like… that." The Uchiha said with wide eyes.

She really didn't know what was up with this guy. "I was hungry," She snapped. "If it bothers you so much, don't watch."

"It's good food," Genma offered. "The Akimichi will never put anything bad on your plate, after all."

"I didn't say it bothered me to watch you eat like a three-hundred-pound man." He spoke slowly. "Actually, I think it's rather charming." He flashed his teeth at her in a smile.

Natsuka gulped as she felt her face warm. She didn't think she'd ever blushed before. Kami, she must resemble a tomato.

"You look like a tomato! I bet my little cousin would love you." He said cocking his head to the side and giving her a boyish smile.

Were Uchiha mind readers? Or was it just an Anbu thing? _"What was your name again?"_ She squeaked for the second time that day. She was really starting to sound quite girly, and she didn't approve at all.

The Uchiha blinked a couple times as his eyes widened. "Where are my manners! The name's Shishui Uchiha. Nice to meet you, Natsuka Hyuuga." Still smiling, he flung a hand out towards her, and she belatedly reached her own up and shook it.

She went on guard again. "How did you know my name?" She asked, voice getting closer to its usual reserved tone.

The other man, Genma, smiled and spoke up. "Just an Anbu thing. We know everything."

Rather than making her laugh, Natsuka felt a little disturbed. Mostly because she didn't think he was joking.

"Now that you're all filled up," Genma went on, "mind if we ask you a few questions?"

Natsuka gulped, but wordlessly nodded her permission.

"Alright, well for starters, why didn't you give your mission report to the Hokage?"

 _What_. Natsuka was so confused by the quick turn in conversation that for a moment all she could do was blink rapidly.

"I gave my report to my clan elders, as is typical. They turned the report over to the Hokage." Her voice had grown colder with the change in subject.

"Yes, well, we have reason to believe that they left a few things out." Genma's voice was purposefully light and casual.

"And why would they do that?" She'd never realized before how uncomfortable it was talking about her clan to outsiders.

"Oh, I don't know." Shisui spoke up. "Maybe because all clans scheme and lie and cheat? I should know." He winked at her.

She blushed _again_.

 _Damn Uchiha_.

"There were several things they didn't mention. Maybe they forgot?" Genma asked, as if trying to placate her, but it was obvious he wasn't being sincere.

Her eyes narrowed. "What things?" She demanded.

"Well," It was Shisui's turn to speak again; he was still smiling amicably, "just a few minor things. Like how your brother is engaged to his own cousin. Or how the two of you have been locked up tight in that compound of yours. Or how you're suffering from clinical depression and look practically emaciated."

His smile had gradually drooped and by the time he was finished speaking he looked more serious than Natsuka had ever seen him. Not that they'd known each other long. Or even at all, really. But something told her that Shisui Uchiha didn't often frown.

"They didn't lock us up." She finally spoke after a few long moments.

"Oh? Then why did they turn visitors away at the gates?"

"Visitors?" She asked, dumbfounded. As far she knew, no one had visited the compound in the last month.

"Several. Your teammates, for one. They tried to visit on several occasions but were told you weren't well."

"Oh." She said very timidly. She didn't know what to make of this discovery. She'd feel angry about it later, after the shock faded.

"Yeah, oh." Genma stated bluntly. "Care to explain any of that?"

"How do you know all of these things?" She asked instead.

"It's an Anbu thing. Now answer the question."

"Why are you interrogating me?" She suddenly snapped so loudly that a few heads turned their way.

Genma leaned forward in his seat and stared her down. "We're not interrogating you, Natsuka Hyuuga. We're _worried_ about you."

"Oh." She sunk lower in her seat, shoulders hunched. _Worried_. No one had ever been worried about her before.

But suspicion overtook her again. "What possibly could be the reason for two random shinobi to be worried about _me_?"

"You're a good kid," Shisui said, shrugging. As if that were reason enough. And for him, it probably was. "We've seen a lot of mental breakdowns on the battleground." His voice turned serious again. "And that stunt you pulled was a mental breakdown if I've ever seen one."

He continued. "We wondered if your clan had decided to shelter you and your brother on purpose. Many clans don't like outside help, after all. It's understandable. But when you stepped foot out of your compound, we knew that hadn't been the case. And then we found out about the arranged marriage. What's been going on in there?"

A distant part of Natsuka knew that she should not tattle on her clan's misdoings, but a bigger part of her reveled in doing so.

"Marriages."

"Come again?" Shisui asked, nose crinkling in confusion.

"I said, _marriages_ , as in more than one."

"Marriages?" Both Genma and Shisui asked at once, both adorably confused.

"Hiashi has arranged a marriage between myself and the heir to the Aburame clan." She refused to call the man her uncle. "He wishes to be rid of me, and this is a way for him to do so while maintaining the family honor."

The two elite ninja sitting across from her exchanged quick and furtive glances. "How did we miss that?" Genma muttered under his breath.

"But why would your uncle want to get rid of you?" Shisui was still very confused.

"Because," She spoke slowly and carefully. "I killed his daughter."

The two men shared yet another look and seemed to have an entire conversation, silently and within the span of a few seconds.

"Listen, Natsuka-chan." She merely raised an eyebrow at Shisui's informality but otherwise didn't react. "There's someone we think you should meet."

"More strange men?" She asked grumpily.

They both threw their heads back and laughed. Then they sobered up and Genma spoke. "Not exactly. You've got some serious issues going on, Natsuka. And we want to help you. The _village_ wants to help you. So let us."

She furrowed her brows as suspicion overtook her again. "What did you have in mind?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small card. He handed it to her, and she snatched her hand away quickly when their skin touched.

She glanced down at it. A business card. _Inoichi Yamanaka,_ it read. _T &I_. Torture and Interrogation?

Oh hell no. But before she could really freak out, Genma spoke again. "That's just where he works. Yamanaka-san is a wonderful therapist. He'll do you some good, I promise."

Therapy?

* * *

Another Author's Note: Sorry I made Hiashi such a douche, lol.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Authors Note: I realized I haven't given specific ages for a lot of characters. Here they are, just for reference:

Neji and Natsuka: 14 (and still genin such noobs)

TenTen: 14

Rookie 9: 12-13

Kakashi, Gai, Kurenai, Asuma: 25+

Genma: 23

Shisui: 19

Itachi: 18

Hanabi: 8

Hinat- oh, wait.

This chapter has soooo much dialogue, just warning you now.

Chapter 6: A New Hope

"Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you."

~ Aldous Huxley

* * *

A wave of smoke blew into the air as Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff from his pipe. The Hokage's office was abuzz with hectic voices talking back and forth.

"With all due respect, commander, I don't think that's the case." Jounin commander Shikaku Nara replied to something the Anbu commander Rat had said.

"Iwa is claiming innocence." The Hokage spoke from his desk. "At this point, I don't know what to believe."

"There is no mistake," Rat said. "It would be impossible for my agents to mistake Iwa ninja. Their characteristics are unmistakable, besides the obvious hitai-ate that every ninja present reported seeing."

Shikaku spoke again. "While that's all true, something about this doesn't add up." The man was rubbing a hand across his goatee, a contemplating look on his face. "Think about it. An infamous bloodline limit was stolen. That's not something Iwa would want to hide. It isn't their way. They'd want to take credit for it."

He went on. "The fact that they're claiming innocence tells me that they really don't want to start a conflict right now."

The rooms occupant's thought about his words, seeing their logic.

"You may be right," Rat allowed. "Regardless of who the guilty party is though, the facts of the matter are that we've got a pair of Byagukan eyes out there somewhere. If we don't find them, we're going to have some very big problems, very soon."

"We've got patrols scouring each country. But our searches are limited; we can't allow anyone else to know what has happened." The Hokage lifted his eyes to meet Shikaku's. "It seems that whoever did this also wants to keep it a secret. That's worse. It means they have a plan for the eyes." He took a deep breath and then addressed the whole room.

"It is imperative that the events that unfolded do not come back to haunt us. The only way we can be sure that the Byakugan is not utilized against us is to locate and secure them. Until that is done, we will treat Iwa as an enemy from this moment forward."

"War, Hiruzen?" The question came from a man leaning on a cane, with bandages covering half his face.

"Not war, Danzo. Merely precaution. We will simply cease interactions with Iwa for the time being. Halt any ongoing missions within the vicinity of Iwa's borders."

"And the Chunin exams?" Shikaku asked.

The Hokage took another puff. "They will go forward as planned." He spoke amidst the smoke. "Iwa is hereby banned from participating. Spread the word."

"But, Hokaga-sama, sign-ups have already started!" Someone near the back spoke up.

Hiruzen gave a huff and said, "I don't care! Ban them! Send out scouts to send away any Iwa teams currently on route to the village. If they ask why, just tell them it's classified."

"You think they'll believe that Hokage-sama?" The Anbu commander asked.

"Of course not. They don't have to. They just have to get out of my village and away from my country."

"Right," Rat said with a hint of humor creeping into his voice.

Hiruzen gently removed his hat and snuffed out his pipe before speaking again. "Shisui. Genma. Any updates?"

The two Anbu straightened to attention from where'd they'd been casually leaning against the wall.

Shisui spoke, voice uncharacteristically serious. "Honestly, it's impossible to know exactly what's going on in there. They'd been turning away visitors for weeks and we could barely get a look inside, but the girl was allowed to walk right out."

"Hmm. And the boy?"

"He's now under my tutelage, Hiruzen." It was the man with the cane and bandages, Danzo. He was smiling, and something about it made him look rather sinister. "Under my care, his potential will not be wasted."

Genma shot a look to Danzo. "Hiashi allowed this?" He sounded incredulous.

"Hiashi _asked_ for this." Danzo now seemed positively smug. "He said the boy needed more discipline and was progressing too slowly."

Genma sneered. "Skipping him ahead straight to Root, Danzo- _sama_?"

Said man frowned and narrowed his eyes. "Watch your tone, boy."

Before the little tirade could escalate further Hiruzen spoke again. But before he did, he gave Danzo a look. It said, _what did you do, Danzo_? And Danzo returned it with a look of his own. _You can't save them all, old friend._

"The girl? Where is she?"

Reluctantly, Genma looked away from the elder. "She was inside the Hyuuga compound the entire time, Hokage-sama. She never left. It's evident now that she needed clinical help, which her clan failed to provide."

"And is the matter taken care of?"

He nodded. "It is now, Hokage-sama."

* * *

Natsuka fidgeted with the cup of green tea in her hands as she and her new therapist sat in uncomfortable silence.

Yesterday, after Shisui and Genma had poofed out of existence left her with the bill at the Akimichi's restaurant, she'd been rather grumpy. She'd thought about not coming here today. But after staring at the small card for a very long time, she did.

Inoichi Yamanaka's office was surprisingly cheery. All she could think about on the way here were the words "torture" and "interrogation," but this mundane office surely didn't fit the visual she'd had in mind. A large window overlooked the village below and let a plethora of sunlight in. Natsuka could feel its warmth on her cold, clammy skin. Birds chirped in the distance. She didn't realize she'd been staring outside until a noise interrupted her thoughts.

She turned to see a very strange sight. The Yamanaka man was using a tiny spray bottle to water an equally tiny cactus that sat on his desk. Next to the cactus stood a picture frame of a smiling blond girl. Ino, his daughter. He seemed very focused on his task and didn't look at her or say anything until he was done.

"So," Inoichi began cheerfully. "You came to see me?"

She blinked. "Well… yes, Yamanaka-san. Did the Anb- I mean, did Genma or Shisui not tell you?"

"They mentioned you might be coming." Inoichi's voice seemed to hint at a deeper meaning to his words.

"Yes, well, uh. Here I am. Yamanaka-san." Finished with her tea, she gently placed her cup on his desk and sat up straight, hands clasped and brows furrowed.

Inoichi _laughed_. "You don't have to be so formal, Natsuka-chan. I have a feeling you and I are going to get to know each other very well."

"Yeah, because you're going to claw through my brain with your creepy mind jutsu." She muttered under her breath. Unfortunately for her the Jounin in front of her had superior hearing.

"Hmm?" He said, and she cringed. But he only laughed again. "Please go easy on me Natsuka-chan! I wouldn't want to get poked or anything." His eyes crinkled when he smiled, and she thought that he probably did so often. Inoichi Yamanaka seemed like a constantly happy and cheerful man. She couldn't relate.

Then his words caught up to her. "Kami, does everyone know about that?" She gasped out, looking horrified.

"No. Ok, yes. But anyway! Why don't we get down to business, alright?"

Natsuka gulped. She didn't know how therapy worked, but she knew she needed help. She had to give this a chance.

"A few weeks back," Inoichi began, "you and several other Genin were sent on a mission-"

"The incident." She said.

Luckily he didn't seem upset at being interrupted. "Come again?"

"I call it the incident."

"Ah, I see." He then picked up a pen. _Click_. It opened and he jotted down a few notes on a clipboard that lay in front of him.

She watched him write with a frown. For some reason his note taking bothered her. Unhindered, she began speaking, trying to get him to understand.

"It's the incident. You know, the _incident_."

Inoichi wordlessly waited for her to say more, but she didn't know what else to say. She felt a twinge of pain and looked down to see her hands clenched onto the wooden handles of her chair.

"Natsuka." he said gently. "I think you've been bottling a lot of things up for quite some time now, and if you can, I want you to let them out."

"Ok."

 _What_. That's not what she'd meant to say. She didn't know where that word had come from. She couldn't talk about that, no, of course she couldn't. She wouldn't.

But the words just rushed out before she could stop them or pull them back in.

"I killed his daughter." She stared at him, waiting for him to gasp and yell and shout and kick her out and call her terrible things. Waited for the reaction she knew would come.

But it didn't. he merely nodded at her to say more.

" _I don't even like them._ My family. I don't like Hanabi, I didn't like Hinata, and I hate Hiashi. I hate him!" She'd slid forward in her seat and her hands slammed onto his desk.

"But it was my job! She was my responsibility, and I failed her. I failed the only thing I was ever meant to do."

Her new therapist stared silently at her for several moments. "I think, Natsuka Hyuuga," He spoke slowly, contemplatively, "that you are meant to do greater things than serve your family."

In a rash moment of spontaneity Natsuka reached a hand up to her hitai-ate and roughly ripped it away from her forehead.

" _Tell me that again."_ Not once in her life had Natsuka ever willingly shown another person her greatest mark of shame.

But rather than become flabbergasted and sputtering as she thought he would, Inoichi just nodded calmy. "The curse mark, yes. I'm aware of its existence. Everyone is, in case you didn't realize." Sarcasm seeped into his face. She didn't understand how he could be joking right now.

"Natsuka, that mark does not define you. It's something you don't understand yet, but you will in time. And I want to tell you something very important." He suddenly leaned forward and reached long and lanky arms towards her. She flinched, sure that he was about to get all creepy mind jutsu on her, when he grasped both sides of her face.

"Your cousin's death was not your fault. You did not kill her, and you did not set into motion the actions that led to her death. You did everything you could to protect her, and that in itself is _not_ a failure. Your current state of mind is sick and twisted, and it is your uncle's fault. He should not have taken out his sadness and anger on you by blaming you for Hinata's death."

She blinked at him rapidly, stunned by his words. "Now repeat after me, Natsuka-chan - I am not responsible for the actions of others." He pinched her cheeks before letting go and withdrawing back into his seat, as if she were a small child. The solemn moment seemed to be over as a friendly smile returned to his face.

"I am not responsible for the actions of others." She said slowly, hoping that one day she might believe the words.

They finished their session and Inoichi cheerfully sent her on her way, telling her to come back in a few days. But just as she was standing at the threshold of the door, she recalled something he'd said earlier. She whirled around and stared at him with furrowed brows.

"Inoichi-san? How did you know about all those… things Hiashi said to me?"

He smirked. "Just Anbu things."

She scratched her head questioningly but decided to leave it at that. As she was walking down the hall though, a thought came to her mind. "Hey!" She shouted over her shoulder. "Are you even in Anbu?"

But his office door was already closed. As she left the building though, she thought she heard a familiar cheery laugh.

* * *

Something that Genma and Shisui mentioned yesterday had planted an ugly seed of doubt into Natsuka's mind.

Her teammates had tried to visit her.

All this time, Natsuka had truly believed that TenTen and Gai-sensei did not _want_ to see her and Neji. Especially her. She was only just now beginning to realize how misguided her feelings of guilt had been these past few weeks.

And more than that, she wondered why her clan had turned them away. Just who was behind this? Hiashi, the elders? Both, perhaps? What troubled her the most was how she'd just walked out of the compound. Yesterday, and today. No one had paid her any mind.

If no one was being allowed in, why was she being allowed out? Natsuka was starting to think that her clan was up to more than just what Hiashi had let on. Arranged marriages were one thing, but just what was the secretive Hyuuga clan up to?

She pondered this as she turned, weaving around two merchant carts and a mother out shopping with her young child. It was time to pay a visit to a certain training ground. She had a feeling two very important people would be there, and it was long past due for her to pay them a visit.

Her hunch proved to be correct when she came upon training ground eleven a few minutes later. TenTen and Gai-sensei were in the middle of a sparring match and didn't notice her arrival. She merely stood a short distance away and watched the two battle it out for a while. She noted with surprise that her teammate had improved in the month since she'd last seen her. TenTen's movements had grown more fluid, and she carried herself with a new grace that had been absent before.

She silently approved of the change.

"Suka-chan!" Her sensei's boisterous voice startled her out of her musings. "So nice of you to join us on this youthful day." He flashed her his usual blindingly white smile.

For a very brief moment, Natsuka felt tears brew in her pale eyes. Trust only her sensei to act so normal in the midst of such chaos. She risked a furtive glance toward's TenTen. When she got a smile in return, she let out the deep breath she'd been holding.

Gai gave them both his signature thumbs-up and said, "When come on then! We've got a lot to catch up on."

* * *

"I can't _believe_ your own family wouldn't let us see you!" TenTen sat with both her arms and legs crossed on the ground, frowning fiercely. They'd been sitting in the grass under a shady tree talking for a while now. "That's just not right, Suka! You know that right, you know that's messed up?"

"I'm beginning to see that." She muttered, eyes narrowed.

Their sensei spoke up. "Natsuka." She looked at him quickly, surprised by his unusually serious tone. "It was not very youthful of you lack trust in us. We are teammates, and we will always protect each other. You must believe in us, even when the days get dark."

She was shocked at hearing such a philosophical statement from her cheery sensei. Nevertheless, she hung her head in shame, because she knew he was right. "I'm sorry, sensei."

A hand patted her head in a gentle manner. "There is nothing to apologize for, Suka-chan."

She gave him a smile in return and nervously cracked her knuckles. They hadn't gone into depth about everything that had happened. She'd decided to bring up the whole marriage thing later. Way later, hopefully. "I guess now all we need is to drag my brother out of the compound and we'll get back to the way things used to be, eh?"

Both TenTen and Gai-sensei gave her odd looks. "What? What is it?"

Though she didn't know it yet, things would never be the same again.

The two glanced at each other, and then back at her. Her own eyes flicked back and forth between the two of them a few times before she couldn't take it anymore. "Someone better start talking."

"Suka," TenTen began hesitantly, "Your brother's not… Neji's not on the team anymore."

Her eyes widened in surprise, but then she gave out a little laugh. The laugh died, however, when no one joined in.

TenTen went on. "I can't believe no one told you." She opened her mouth to say more but then closed it. She glanced to Gai, seemingly at a loss for what to say.

"What TenTen says is true, Natsuka. I was informed a couple of weeks ago that Neji would be receiving supplementary instruction from here on out. I was told by the village counsel that… that Neji would no longer be needing my instruction." Their sensei finished speaking with hunched shoulders and an incredibly sad look on his face.

Her own face was a mask of astonishment. "Supplementary… training? With _who_?" Her mouth gaped open and she couldn't bring herself to close it.

"They would not say. I'm sorry, Suka-chan."

She could not believe that this was happening. And more than anything she couldn't believe that her own brother hadn't informed her about any of it.

Her clan? Sure, she could believe that they wouldn't keep her up to date on things. She no longer expected much of anything from her clan. But for her twin to not tell her about such a big thing felt like a betrayal to Natsuka, and it cut deep.

She was afraid. A team without her brother? She was only just coming back into the world; she didn't know if she could handle this kind of change.

Just then, a noise disturbed her thoughts. The sound of feet pattering the ground, and going fast too. A figure emerged into the clearing, a boy. He was quite sweaty and knelt with his hands on his knees, breathing harshly.

Suddenly the figure straightened to attention, and Natsuka felt a brief flash of horror at what she saw.

The green _blob_ , as there was no better description, flashed them all an eerily familiar smile with equally familiar white teeth and said, "Gai-sensei! I have finished my one thousand laps around the village, as you requested!"

Gai began to look rather nervous and rubbed a hand over his head in a sheepish manner. It wasn't a good look for the usually confident man.

"What's going on?" She asked, the question aimed at all of them. "Lee-san?" She'd finally recognized the green blur.

Lee blinked large, owlish eyes at her. Then he sprang in front of her so fast that she nearly didn't see the movement and held out his arm at a ninety-degree angle.

"Hello, Natsuka-sempai! It is a pleasure to meet you and I hope we work well together!" Delicately, she reached out a hesitant hand to shake his own.

She shot a quick look to TenTen, eyebrows raised and questions in her eyes. Fortunately, the girl answered them.

"Lee-san graduated with the Rookie 9, remember? His Genin teammates failed their sensei's test though, so he's been running around the village doing solo D-ranks and paperwork for the past few weeks. With the… opening on our team, the academy finally found somewhere to place him. So, yeah." She finished, shrugging her shoulders helplessly.

"I know I am young and inexperienced!" Lee said, hands now clenched at his sides. "But please know that I will try my best and give my all so that we may pass the upcoming exam!"

Natsuka raised an eyebrow again. It seemed that the confusion today would be never-ending.

"Yosh! Thank you for the reminder Lee." Gai shot a brief look to Natsuka. "I'm so glad that you were able to be here today. After all, sign-ups end in an hour!"

It was silent for several moments. She waited, but he didn't say anything further.

TenTen slapped a hand to her face. "Ugh, sensei. You've got to tell her what you're talking about. She doesn't know, remember?"

"Ah! Forgive me, Natsuka-chan~! I'm talking about the Chunin exam of course. It's being held right here in Konoha, and you've all been nominated. I'd nominated Neji, but…" he trailed off into silence.

Natsuka was stupefied. "And sign-ups end today? What in Kami-sama's name were you going to do if I never showed up?"

But they all just shrugged. She shot a look to the clouds and sighed.

After some brief discussion about the exam, the three Genin hurried to the registration site. The first part of the exam would begin in two days.

Along the way, Lee kept shooting furtive looks at Natsuka. After the seventh glance in her direction she finally asked the boy if he wanted to say something.

"Ah, no Natsuka-sempai. Well, yes. I just…" He took a deep breath and shook his head, before a gleam of determination entered his eyes. "Please do not think that I wish to replace your brother! I know Neji-san is an excellent ninja and will go far, and I've heard that the two of you are brilliant together! I know I cannot compare, but I just-"

"Lee, shutup." The boy did so immediately, looking terrified at the frown he saw on her face.

But then she smiled, and Lee thought it was beautiful.

"First of all, you may call me Natsuka-chan, or Suka, for short. And second, please do not ever think that I would compare you to my brother. My brother cannot be compared to anyone, after all. And it is not your fault that he is no longer here."

She knew she was right to say these things to Lee when he let out a sigh of relief. She remembered her brief moments of guilt over this boy. She remembered how his fate had been manipulated. And yet in the end, here he was.

She smiled at her new teammate, and looped an arm through his. He looked just about ready to cry. "I think you and I are going to be good friends." She looped her other arm through TenTen's and together, the new Team Gai went on their way to start a new adventure.

* * *

Natsuka let out a deep sigh and sipped on her blissfully warm green tea. It seemed to be a favorite of Inoichi's.

Her therapist sat slouched at his desk, relaxed. She doubted that when he told her to "come back soon" he meant the very next day, but here she was. It was evening in Konoha, and the sun would be setting soon.

"Long day, Natsuka-chan?" He asked cheerfully.

She frowned, eyes droopy as she took a large gulp of tea. "Hmph. I've been training all day Inoichi-san. It was dreadful." She let out a delicate sniff.

"Training all day? The day before the Chunin exam too. You're not _that_ nervous are you?"

She internally wondered if he was purposefully trying to goad her, but answered anyway. "Of course not!" She scoffed. "But we have a new teammate to account for. He's a fresh Genin and we have _no_ experience working with him. We had to do everything we could to ensure we went into the exam with at least a bit of cohesiveness."

"And did it go well?" Inoichi asked, elbows braced on his desk and chin held in his hands.

Truthfully, it _had_ gone rather well. She'd already been aware of Lee's inability to manipulate chakra, so it hadn't taken her by surprise. However, his aptitude in taijutsu had shocked her. Being a Hyuuga, Natsuka had always felt a small amount of contempt towards anyone else when it came to taijutsu, especially when she was an academy student. She'd been a bit of a snob, honestly. She'd been taught in the style of the Gentle Fist at a very young age, and it was probably the most graceful form of taijutsu that existed to date. Simply put, nothing else compared.

But Lee's show at training earlier in the day had given her pause. He was lightning quick, as quick as her. And his movements, albeit much rougher and jerkier than her own, were exquisite. His style was unique in such a way that she could compare it to no other.

When he'd created a small crater with the weights strapped to his arms and legs, she'd almost fainted. She'd decided then and there that she and her teammate would get along just fine.

At the end of the day, they'd decided they made quite a sight. With she and Lee's quick speed and in-your-face style, they'd be formidable. And with TenTen at mid-range to back them up, nothing would be able to escape their grasp.

Natsuka had always believed that no one would work with her as well as her twin did.

But she was starting to think it was only because she'd never tried.

"Well?" Inoichi's patient voice interrupted her inner revelations.

"Oh, yes. It went splendidly." She flashed him a bland smile and took another sip of tea.

He chuckled. "I see. Well, good luck tomorrow Natsuka-chan. I hope you won't need it."

Near the end of the session she brought up a topic that she didn't want to think about. But it wouldn't leave her mind.

"Did you know about my brother?"

If Inoichi was startled by her abrupt change in subject, he didn't show it. He took it in stride and answered her quietly. "I only just learned of it. And I'm sorry Natsuka, but I can't say any more on the matter."

By his lack of honorific, she could tell he was being serious. What she didn't know was if he couldn't say anything else because he didn't know, or because he wasn't allowed. Her frustration was beginning to pile up deep inside her, and though she did a good job of containing it, she was afraid that one day it would break through.

* * *

After her therapy session yesterday evening, she'd attempted to find her brother and finally have a real conversation with him, only to discover that he was gone. She hadn't panicked, merely because she'd _know_ if something bad were happening to her twin. She didn't know where he was, but she knew he was alright.

She'd tentatively knocked on Hanabi's door, because she was the only one she thought to go to. She surely couldn't ask her uncle where her brother was, and she doubted anyone else would know. The young girl had merely given her a blank look and told her Neji had left for training the day before.

She didn't even know if he was within the confines of the village. With considerable effort she'd managed to stay calm though, and sent up a silent prayer to her brother. _Neji, I don't know what you've gotten yourself into, but please stay safe. Please._ She didn't know when she'd see her twin again, but she dearly hoped that it would be soon.

Team-Gai arrived at the examination building promptly, only to come upon a strange sight. A crowd of young Genin surrounded two burly looking Chunin blocking the entrance to the second floor. It was strange, because that wasn't where the first part of the exam was being held.

She abruptly decided to lend a helping hand. "Oi, brats." Every head turned her way. "Don't you know this isn't the third floor?"

Most of them looked at her with wide eyes and gaping mouths, and she thought that they looked a bit like fish out of water. One boy stood out though, because he was glaring. With a start she realized that it was none other than Sasuke Uchiha.

"Uchiha!" She stuttered out, pointing a finger at him.

He stopped glaring for a moment to give her a confused look.

"Tell your family members to stop bothering me!" She had no idea how Sasuke and Shisui were related, but she figured he'd get the message across. Somehow.

And with that, she a gave a delicate sniff and turned on her heels toward the stairs. Her teammates silently followed. When they were out of hearing distance, she turned to TenTen. "How was that for a first impression?"

She smirked. "Not terrible. Not good, but not terrible. What was all that with Sasuke though?"

"Oh, don't worry about that." She waved a hand in the air, as if sweeping away any further discussion about the Uchiha.

"I thought it was all very youthful, Natsuka-chan!" Lee supplied helpfully. She smiled at him in return.

They arrived to the correct floor and entered with no issues. It seemed that most of the other participants had already arrived, and she took a moment to get a look at her competitors.

She did a scan of the room and noticed the lack of Iwa nin right away. It didn't surprise her that they weren't here, but she quickly moved on before she could dwell on the thought. She was a bit taken aback by the amount of competitors. Even with a major village absent, there must've been a hundred shinobi in the room.

"This looks promising." TenTen muttered under her breath.

They were interrupted by shouting voices, and suddenly the door slammed open and more people burst into the room. The figure in the very middle spread his legs wide and fisted his hands.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm gonna beat all of you into the ground, believe it!"

Ah, wonderful. The rest of the Rookie 9 had arrived. TenTen slapped a hand to her face. "Idiot." Lee just smiled, seemingly unbothered by the boisterous ball of orange that was Naruto. He could probably relate.

"Dobe." Sasuke muttered. Surprisingly, the pink haired girl, Sakura, didn't whack her teammate over the head. Natsuka noticed upon closer inspection a thin, pale scar that raced along half of Sakura's neck.

Hey brows furrowed. Not everyone had come away from that mission unscathed. Those that had come away alive, anyway.

By now the rest of the room was staring at the young Genin, some gawking and some glaring furiously.

"Psst," came a voice. "Over here." A hand waved Naruto and his team over. It was an older teen with gray hair pulled back in a ponytail, and wide circular glasses. The four of them sat down in the corner and the teen began speaking animatedly to him.

She shrugged and continued her perusal of the room. She spotted Team 8 across the room and her gut clenched. Beside Kiba and her future husband – she couldn't contain her cringe at that – stood a boy she'd never seen. _So they found a replacement_. The boy was completely unfamiliar to her, but she wouldn't forget what he looked like now that she'd seen him. He had short, pitch black hair and eyes to match, and was paler than most Uchiha. His most defining feature was his attire. Strangely enough, his long sleeve black shirt was cut-off at his midriff, leaving his stomach bare.

 _What an odd look for a boy_ , Natsuka thought. He had matching black pants, and overall she found him to be rather bland. Her thoughts were cut short when she accidentally made eye contact with someone she _really_ didn't want to be looking at.

Shino Aburame's eyes met hers across the room.

Alright, not really. She couldn't see his eyes through his goggles, but she knew he was staring by the way his head had turned in her direction and how unnaturally still he'd suddenly become.

She desperately wanted to know what was going through Shino's head right now. Did he know they were betrothed? Judging by his stare, he'd been made aware. A hurricane of confusion churned within her. Should she go and talk to him? She really didn't want to. But shouldn't they talk to each other? After all, they were going to spend the rest of their lives together. Get married, probably have a kid. And then more kids.

"Natsuka! Your face is getting all green! Are you alright?" A voice was speaking to her, asking her questions, but she could barely hear it. There was a muted buzz going through her head.

"Natsuka!" The voice got a little louder. It was TenTen, and she was starting to sound very worried.

"Ah, uh, oh. I'm fine. Completely fine." She pretended her knees hadn't just started to shake.

"Fine? You're not fine! What was that just now? You were staring at Shino."

"Was I?" She squeaked out. She attempted to mask her face into a look of innocence but knew she failed terribly.

They were interrupted by the dozens of hearts rapidly appearing in their teammates eyes. They both leaped back a step, incredibly disturbed.

"Ah, young love! How youthful!" Lee sounded positively ecstatic. He even clapped a few times.

Just before he could become a puddle on the floor, Natsuka shoved a hand over his mouth and hissed, "Never say that again. Nothing happened, _nothi_ -"

But before she could threaten Lee and his various body parts any further, a deep voice overtook the room.

"All right, cannon fodder, listen up. My name is Morino Ibiki and I'll be your proctor for the first part of this exam. Follow me to the testing rooms." And as suddenly as he appeared, he turned with a flap of his long, black coat and was walking quickly away. After a moment, everyone shuffled after him.

There was now a nervous air amongst all of them. Probably because Morino Ibiki looked absolutely terrifying. He had several red, livid scars snaking across his face and an equally sinister frown to match. But she only shrugged. Appearances could be deceiving, after all.

* * *

She finished the written test with plenty of time to spare. She glanced around the room and saw her teammates still working. It was no matter, she trusted them to finish in time. A huge yawn overtook her all of the sudden, and she decided that it was great time for a nap. Nightmares still plagued her sleep at night.

She was jolted awake by a familiar voice. Once again, Naruto's voice was a thundering shout. "You're crazy if you think I'm gonna let one question stop me from achieving my dream! I'll be Hokage whether I pass this exam or not, and I'll never give up!"

Kami, that was wonderful for the boy, but did he have to say it so loudly? She hated being roused from her sleep like that.

Strangely enough, their proctor only smiled at him. "You're… correct. Those of you remaining pass the first part of the exam. Congratulations."

She saw Lee and TenTen smiling happily from their seats, but she was just confused. Did she miss something? She noticed Shikamaru, sitting two seats away from her, also looked a bit dazed.

She just barely contained her shriek of surprise when the window nearest to Ibiki shattered open and a figure leaped inside through it. She was wide awake now.

"Greetings, kiddos! The name's Anko Mitarashi, and I'll be your proctor for the next part of the exam." She seemed as if she was about to give a speech but paused and looked at the scarred man. "This many? Come on!"

The man only shrugged and rolled his eyes. "Deal with it, Anko."

She grumbled a few incoherent words under her breath, but then snapped her head back up to them. "Alright mongrels! The _real_ exam starts now. Follow me."


	7. Chapter 7

Authors Note: I know the first part of the chunin exams was super rushed, but I really wanted to focus on the second part and everything that happens after that. For any Gaara fans out there, I apologize for lack of Gaara-ness thus far. I'll try to redeem myself. Also, did anyone notice Sai last chapter?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 7: Daylight

 _Hey brother_

 _Do you still believe in one another?_

* * *

They called it the Forest of Death. A huge mass of trees nearly taller than she could see, and spreading so far in each direction that she couldn't see the end. The foliage was so thick that she could hardly see inside. Warning signs were strung up on the tall, ominous looking fence surrounding the forest. Her favorite so far was the one with a crimson skull painted on with a black slash marking through it that said simply, "Beware."

Their proctor, Anko, led them here and explained the next part of the exam. She'd cheerfully informed them that as part of their next task they'd all be entering the forest and duking it out. Every group was given a scroll, Heaven or Earth. The goal was to attain the opposite scroll by any means necessary and make it to the tower, which lay near the very center of the forest, within four days.

When someone had piped up to ask when they'd be given their own scrolls, Anko had given them a creepy smile and told them that they already had them.

This resulted in several groups scrambling around and confusedly finding scrolls on their persons, and pulling them out for all to see. Morons.

Each team had then been directed to a separate gate. And that's where she stood with her team now, at gate twenty-three, awaiting the signal to begin.

At the gate nearest to them stood a team from Suna. It consisted of two older looking teens, a blond girl with four spiky pigtails and a boy with an obscene amount of purple paint on his face. Next to them stood a younger looking boy, a pale redhead with eerie pupil-less green eyes. Natsuka saw a flash of silver as the painted boy fumbled with his scroll before nearly dropping it and hastily placing it in a pocket. A Heaven scroll.

Her own team's dark green Earth scroll was nestled away safely with Lee. With a quick pat down she'd discovered the scroll in a pocket of her shirt. She'd been incredibly disturbed as to how it got there, but decided it wasn't worth the effort to think about. She'd handed it off to Lee and he'd smuggled it away in one fluid moment.

Before they'd all been separated and while the groups had been distracted by the discovery of their own scrolls, Team Gai had done some quick thinking. A green scroll would blend in flawlessly with their equally green teammate, and rambunctious Lee was likely the last person anyone would expect to be holding the scroll. As the only clan member of the group, and as a Hyuuga, most people they encountered would probably wrongly assume that it was in her possession.

"Neh, Suka," TenTen whispered, almost inaudible. "You saw it too, right?"

She nodded wordlessly. But the cool and sneaky moment was ruined when their third teammate spoke up. "They have a Heaven scroll!" He'd held both his hands around his mouth, as if that could cover up his terrible inability to whisper.

TenTen gently bopped him on the head. "Lee! Shush!" He slapped his hands over his mouth now, and nodded with wide eyes.

TenTen glanced at her. "Think we should try it? Imagine getting a scroll this early, we'd be the first ones finished!"

She contemplated the idea for a moment, and then quietly activated her Byakugan. What she saw caused her droopy eyes to widen.

"What is it?" TenTen asked, frowning at the alarm on her friends face.

"His chakra…" She muttered. Something was wrong with the redhead's chakra. It swirled within him in chaotic movements. She was also baffled by the sheer size of the it. How could a Genin have so much chakra? But her eyes could not be deceiving her. It pulsed throughout him as if it had a life of its own. Natsuka had not seen such aggressive chakra since that fateful day, but this was on a level of its own.

"What about it?"

She frowned and deactivated her eyes. "The redhead. Something's not right with him. I think… we should steer clear of them." The idea of completing this part of the exam so quickly was incredibly tempting, but Natsuka was disturbed by the sinister aura she felt from the younger boy. There was something off about him, and her instinct was telling her to stay away.

"Alright, Natsuka-chan! We will find another scroll." Lee whisper-shouted and gave her a smile and a thumbs up. TenTen nodded her agreement as well, and she was touched by the show of trust from her teammates.

Just then, a red flare shot up from their gate, a high pitched whizzing sound emitting from it as it shot up into the sky. Around them, they could see dozens of other flares doing the same thing. It seemed the exam had begun. She risked a quick glance to the other gate. The Suna team was already gone. Her eyes narrowed.

"Let's say on the defensive. Focus on getting deeper into the forest for the time being," she declared, a hint of authority creeping into her voice.

Her two teammates nodded together and as one they leapt out of view and into the darkness.

* * *

They made their way several miles into the forest and kept to themselves for the remainder of the day. Natsuka kept her Byakugan activated the majority of the time just to be safe. It was a small drain on her chakra, but nothing that couldn't be replenished with a few hours of sleep.

They did not come into contact with a single soul. They missed out on any action the first day, but they didn't fail to hear it. they'd heard periodic screaming, some human and some not. The sounds were cringe worthy and she turned her eyes away from the direction they came from, lest she see something she didn't want to.

"Should we stop here for the night?" She asked, looking around. The sun had just set and they'd stopped in a small clearing between the soaring trees. Hesitantly, she deactivated her eyes. She could hardly see a hand in front of her face, but hopefully her vision would adjust soon. The dense foliage didn't allow for moonlight to seep through.

"I think so. It might not be wise to continue on in the dark, especially since we're so unfamiliar with our surroundings," TenTen said just as Lee tripped over a branch. He fell flat on his face but jumped back up quicker than any of them could blink. "I think that is a wonderful idea!" He said, giving them his signature thumbs-up.

"Hmm. We should skip a fire, not worth the risk," she decided, rubbing a hand across her chin contemplatively. "We can sleep in shifts."

TenTen brought her hands over her head and stretched like a cat, her back cracking several times. "Sounds good to me. Does anyone have any food?"

When Lee excitedly brandished three tasteless protein bars in each hand and held them up victoriously, they both groaned.

* * *

 _A still figure stood, hunched over slightly, arms hanging limply at his sides. His near-white hair shone bright in the moonlight. His head was hung down, eyes covered by the mop of hair._

 _The wind caused him to sway slightly, and sand swirled around him in a whirlwind. Slowly, he raised an arm and pointed a crooked finger._

 _His head lifted. His throat had been brutally slashed. But somehow, he opened his mouth and words were croaked out._

" _Your fault."_

* * *

She awoke with a startled gasp. Unsurprisingly, TenTen, who was a light sleeper to begin with, woke as well. Lee, who'd been on watch, looked at her worriedly. "Natsuka-chan, are you alright? You were making noises in your sleep."

Her eyes flickered around the treetops above her. "I'm fine." Daylight was seeping through the trees. Hastily, she stood up, stretched, and began packing up their things.

"But Su-" Lee tried again.

"It was just a dream. Don't worry about it. We should get going," she spoke shortly and through clenched teeth. TenTen gave her a blank look but didn't ask any questions. Lee, who was not nearly as apt at hiding his emotions, continued staring at her with furrowed brows and opened his mouth a few times, trying to think of what to say. Just before he spoke up though, TenTen jabbed an elbow into his side and shot him a meaningful look. After a moment, he decided to let the matter go.

"You still have the scroll?" TenTen asked Lee, mostly just to change the subject.

"It is secure on my person!" He gave them both a salute.

They gathered all of their things, had a few bites of a disgusting protein bar and were on their way. They travelled for what must have been several hours, most of it spent in amicable silence. Once again, they failed to find any other people and it was beginning to unnerve Natsuka. She was starting to realize that she'd gravely underestimated the sheer size of the forest.

They had three more days to find another team with a Heaven scroll. She'd been nervously anticipating the inevitable confrontation, but now she was nervous that they wouldn't even find anyone to begin with. They were all starting to get a bit antsy.

They took a short break, probably sometime in the early afternoon. They each took a few sips from their canteens and relaxed against a huge tree branch, feet dangling over the forest floor dozens of feet below.

Just before they got ready to take off again, a noise startled them from their break. It was more startling than it normally would've been, because the Forest of Death was an unusually silent place. She'd taken notice of it yesterday. No birds chirped here. No squirrels ran across the trees. Not a single owl hooted during the night.

The only thing they'd heard were the screams. Whatever lurked in the forest chose to remain silent.

It was unnerving, and so hearing anything at all when they'd heard nothing for several hours was enough to get them all on their feet, weapons drawn.

"A scream," TenTen decided. "But it was close. Too close." She held a weapons scroll in hand, ready to use at a moment's notice.

"I heard more than one voice," Lee said. And if Lee was using such a grave voice, you _knew_ something was wrong.

"Byakugan," she muttered, nearly silent. The world's chakra flooded into view as her sight expanded to become a full circle. "There." She pointed to their left. "Four signatures, fifty yards away." She took a closer look, wondering at the odd number of signatures for an exam with three-membered teams.

What she saw sent a wave of fear coursing through her. It was obvious that the fourth signature was facing off against the other three judging from their positions. And the fourth's chakra… Natsuka briefly entertained the idea that it was the redhead from the gate that she was seeing, but that couldn't be it. The person's chakra was equally malevolent, but different. Darker. Sicker.

And besides that, his two teammates were nowhere to be seen. No, it was not the team from Suna. She glanced to the other three signatures again and her eyes widened.

"It's a team from the Rookie 9. They appear to be in the middle of a confrontation with a single individual."

"The Rookie 9? Can you tell who?" TenTen asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

She wordlessly shook her head. "I haven't spent enough time around them. I can just tell that it's one of the squads."

Lee spoke up. "Natsuka-chan, why are they facing one individual? And why do you look so worried?"

She hadn't realized she looked worried. She quickly schooled her features into her usual look of nonchalance, but she couldn't hide how tense she was. "That's what doesn't make sense. Wherever this person's teammates are, they're definitely not anywhere in the area."

"But why would they separate?" TenTen wondered. "Unless... the Konoha nin killed them?"

Natsuka couldn't contain her snort of disbelief. "Those brats? Yeah right."

Unknowingly, the trio's voices had become a quite whisper of solemn voices. They knew something about the situation they'd just discovered did not add up.

"Listen up," Natsuka said. "Something about this fourth signature doesn't make sense. It's as creepy as that redheads. And I know this going to sound crazy but… it seems _evil_."

Lee looked positively aghast, and TenTen's anxiety rocketed up. She'd never heard her teammate describe chakra in such a way.

"This is a Chunin exam, why would a Genin have such disturbing chakra?" Lee asked anxiously.

Her brows furrowed. "I have no idea."

TenTen spoke. "Well, what should we do? We've got three options. Run, observe, or fight. Remember that there's two possible scrolls up for grabs here."

"We could never steal a scroll from our own comrades!" Lee said quickly, his voice becoming more of a shout.

"Shh!" TenTen hushed him. "You're right, you're right. I didn't mean that. Well, what about this fourth person? Think he or she has a scroll?"

Natsuka raised a brow at them and silently disagreed with their vow to not attack any Konoha Genin. The Rookie 9 were younger, less experienced, and in her opinion, weaker. It's not like they'd hurt them… just grab the scroll and go…

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. Her teammates were vehemently against attacking one of their own, so she'd hold them to it. "We should run or fight. There's no point in sticking around to watch. I'm…worried about the unidentified chakra signature though."

"If even you are worried, Suka-chan, perhaps we should flee?" Lee cats a furtive glance in the direction her eyes were facing, but she got the distinct impression that running was not what he wanted to do. TenTen seemed undecided.

So she decided to just ask him. "Do you really want to run Lee? Or do you want to confront them and see what those brats have gotten themselves into?" She finished off her question with a knowing smirk.

"Yes! I believe that would be the youthful choice!" He said, with the usual determination in his voice that Natsuka was really beginning to admire. Lee and their sensei had eerily similar qualities, and while it was touching, it was also just weird.

TenTen nodded in agreement, seemingly accepting the decision to enter the conflict, and the three of them took off in the direction of the signatures. With Natsuka leading the way, it took them a matter of seconds to arrive upon the scene. They landed on a branch overlooking the clearing below and silently took in the situation.

So it was Team 7. Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto stood side by side facing someone. The fourth signature. It was a man, and she took a moment to observe the owner of such dark and sinister chakra. He was tall and rather slender looking, with a dark sheet of hair similar to her own.

Her own hair was far more lustrous, of course.

The man wore a tan tunic of sorts, with a purple belt securing it in place. His arms were covered by a black shirt, but she could from his face that he was pale. Very pale. His skin did not have the healthy shine that her own pale tone did though. It was more gray, and she briefly thought that he looked like a dead man walking.

His eyes were by far his most defining feature. His black pupils were slit like a cats, and his irises were a stunning golden color. It might have been a pretty color, but everything about this man screamed _unnatural_.

She didn't know who he was. He wore no hitai-ate.

"What the hell do you want you creep!" Naruto's loud voice was dripping with nervousness and anxiety. The boy couldn't hide his fear.

"I want nothing from you, Naruto-kun," the man said, giving the children the most terrifying smile she'd ever seen. And the man's _voice_. It was a scratchy, grating noise that tore at something in her soul. It was retched. It was as if poison seeped out of the man with every word he spoke.

"Who the hell are you and how do you know my name, freak!"

"My name," the man said slowly, leisurely, "is Orochimaru."

"One day you and I will get to know each other very well Naruto-kun, but right now, you are in my way."

The way he spoke to Naruto with such familiarity sickened her.

A deep rumbling suddenly shook the ground, and trees fell to the ground _very close to them._ And before anyone could even move, a giant monster appeared out of nowhere.

It was a snake. A huge, monstrous thing. Purple in color and with eyes eerily similar to its masters. Natsuka barely held in a shriek when she realized the thing nearly reached their height in the trees. There were simply no words to adequately describe the size of the creature.

She and her teammates braced themselves as the giant snake came to a stop in the clearing. The three Genin below were visibly shaking, horrified by the site in front of them.

She'd been so entranced by the snake that even with her eyes she'd missed something very important. TenTen, ever the observant one, was just now noticing as well. "Where-" she began.

An agonizing, sharp pain pierced the center of her back. It hit her with such force that she fell forward off of the branch. Her limbs tangled in Lee's as she fell, and they just barely managed to separate in time to land carefully, albeit a bit roughly, on the ground. She landed on her feet but stumbled forward onto a knee. She straightened in time to see TenTen land gracefully at her side, grimacing in pain. With an effortless twist of his legs, Lee leaped back to his feet.

She reached behind herself and viciously ripped out whatever had been impaled in her back, hissing out a breath as she did so. A shuriken, half drenched in her blood. Taking the cue from her, TenTen ripped her own out. Lee seemed to be having trouble reaching the shuriken in his own back, so she deftly reached around and pulled it out with a quick tug. He gave a sharp yell, but then nodded his thanks at her.

Besides the small gashes on each of their backs, they were fine. No one appeared to have broken anything on the way down.

 _They'd been seen._ There was no way any dimwitted Genin would've seen them from so high up. Just who were they dealing with here?

Team 7 stood a distance away from them, obviously dazed at their sudden arrival. Before words could be exchanged, a giant mass of purple reptilian skin slithered between them. Team Gai leaped away into the safety of the trees. That snake was _fast_.

Once she got her baring's she turned back, only to see the snake slithering away into the forest as fast as it had arrived. Only, a chakra signature was now missing.

"That thing ATE Naruto!" Came the horrified voice of Sakura. She then let out a bloodcurdling screech.

Natsuka winced at the jarring noise, but it was true. Naruto was nowhere to be seen. She cringed in disgust at the idea of being engulfed by that thing.

Suddenly all the commotion came to a grating stop. A terrifying sense of _wrongness_ entered the air. All the Genin stood frozen where they were, unable to move. Choking noises came from Sakura, and Lee took staggering breaths.

Natsuka felt as if her body were being torn limb from limb. The pain felt so real, and yet at the same time she knew it wasn't. In the back of her mind she recognized it for what it was – killing intent. No doubt coming from Orochimaru. She knew what was happening, but she could not bring herself to move. Her body refused to listen to her mind.

For several long and tense moments, no one did anything. They couldn't. She was sure that the man would pop out at any time and end them for good. But then, Sasuke whipped out a kunai in a flash of movement and imbedded it into his own thigh. He gritted his teeth in obvious pain, but the shock to his system had done the trick. He slumped over in relief, free from the malicious aura oozing through the air. Slowly, the rest of them came out of the haze too. Sakura fell to her knees and did not get back up. Natsuka noticed drops accumulating in the dirt where the girl's tears fell.

She rolled her tense shoulders and tried to calm her breathing. She felt as if she'd just run a hundred laps around the village, if not more.

Before anyone could fully recover though, Orochimaru flashed into existence mere feet from them. He was smirking at them, and it was chilling. "Well done, Sasuke-kun. I knew I was right to pick you. But what do we have here?" He glanced towards the members of Team Gai and let out a sinister chuckle. The sound caused her insides to churn in apprehension. "Another squad of Genin I didn't account for. And a Hyuuga too? My, my." His eyes zeroed in on her face before flashing to the hitai-ate across her forehead, and then his eyes narrowed. "If I didn't already have a vessel picked out, I might consider you, little girl. The Byakugan has always fascinated me." Another look to her forehead, as if he could see the brand underneath. "But you just won't do."

The words caused shame to spark inside her, but she didn't know why. What did it matter what this man thought?

"What do you want?" Sasuke spoke in a low and threatening voice, and she had to give him props for keeping his cool.

Orochimaru flashed him a brilliant smile, sharp teeth on display. "You, Sasuke-kun." At once, the Genin's eyes widened in horror. Sakura looked up with an uneasy look on her face.

Somewhere deep insider herself, Natsuka found the courage to speak up. "That's nice and all, but would you mind elucidating on that?" Her voice had a hint of bite and whole lot of fear.

"Your brother has rejected my offers too many times. He is too old now, and no longer of any use. But you, Sasuke-kun, are a prime subject." He was speaking loud enough for all of them to hear, but only had eyes for the Uchiha.

A vague feeling of nausea was starting to form deep in her gut. Orochimaru's words were beginning to process in her brain, and she was disgusted. By the looks on her teammates faces, they weren't far behind.

"Paralysis Jutsu!" Orochimaru's voice had risen without warning, and he'd spoken much faster than the slow drawl he'd used before. She didn't even have time to process the words before an invisible force held her in place. It was not killing intent, but she could not move a single muscle. She couldn't even turn her head to look at her comrades. _He hadn't even used hand signs._

It was clear now that this man was on a level entirely different from their own.

Disgustingly, Orochimaru's neck started to visibly elongate. She had no idea how such a movement was physically possible, but before she could contemplate it further his head shot out, coming directly towards them.

She was embarrassed to admit it, but even she screamed. He got closer and closer until finally he was close enough that she realized he was aiming for _Sasuke._ And she could see his face now – jaw unnaturally unhinged and canines impossible sharp - _was he going to tear the boys throat out?_

He got closer and closer and closer and then a strand of his hair whipped across her cheek and he was inches from Sasukes face and-

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Orochimaru's teeth clamp down on a thin sword.

He hissed before rearing back and leaping a short distance away. The jutsu preventing them from moving dissipated. Both TenTen and Lee fell to the ground, and she very nearly followed. The feeling of all your muscles relaxing at once was rather shocking. And painful. Sasuke, understandably shocked from a weapon appearing an inch from his neck, staggered back several feet with wide eyes.

Four figures now surrounded the Genin, facing the enemy nin. Konoha Anbu. She let out a breath of relief, but she knew they weren't in the clear yet.

The figure next to Sasuke retracted his sword and returned it to its place on his back. In retrospect, she didn't really think putting his weapon away was a good idea given the current situation. the remaining Anbu had yet to move.

The one next to Sasuke spoke. "Orochimaru. You continue to degrade the legacy of the Sannin. You are a disappointment to Konoha and your actions will not go unpunished." He spoked as if the two were having a friendly conversation.

"Ah, Itachi. What a lovely surprise." But Orochimaru's voice said that it was anything but, "Unfortunately I no longer have any need of you." He looked at Sasuke. "Until next time Sasuke-kun." The ominous voice was enough to send chills through her bones.

And then Orochimaru was just _gone_. And so were two of the Anbu. She tensed, unsure of what would happen next. But then the agent who had yet to speak turned to them and asked, "Does anyone need medical attention?"

Natsuka just stared at the agent for a moment, uncomprehending. The situation had just taken a whirlwind turn and she had yet to get caught up.

" _What just happened?!"_ Came Sakura's shrill voice, still filled with fear. Usually she'd be annoyed with the girl for yelling, but even she wanted some answers, and soon.

The agent who'd spoken, apparently a medic, deigned to enlighten them. "This exam had been breached by an S-Ranked missing nin. You were just attacked by him. But the situation is being handled."

 _S-Ranked missing nin._

"Oh, joy." She heard herself say faintly.

"Does anyone need immediate medical attention?" He asked again, choosing to ignoring her sass.

TenTen, who'd been silent up until now, roughly cleared her throat. "I think we're all fine." She hesitantly looked around.

Lee nodded that he was indeed fine, a hint of his usual vivaciousness coming back to him. Sakura, who _still_ hadn't gotten to her feet, just gave a sniff. After a moment when everyone was staring at her, she shrugged her shoulders.

"Thanks for showing up on time." Unbidden and completely out of nowhere, the words jumped out of her mouth. She had no idea where they came from. Her voice was hollow and wrought with insincerity. And worse, unheard but obviously there, tacked on to the end of her sentence were the words _this time_.

The two Anbu looked at her sharply. She didn't even know who they were. There was no way to know if they were the same team from that day. Hey eyes were activated now, but they hadn't been then. Right now, she could see the agent's chakra swirling in a bit of uneasiness. But not confusion. Her eyes narrowed a degree.

But they only chose to ignore her again. "Sasuke." The agent who'd had his sword out now kneeled down in front of the boy and placed a hand on each of his shoulders. "Did he touch you?"

All of a sudden, words from just moments before invaded her mind. Hey eyes widened a fraction and she appraised the Anbu agent before her in a new light. This was _Itachi Uchiha_. He hadn't taken off his signature cat mask, but he didn't need to. She knew what his chakra looked like now, and wouldn't forget.

As if he could hear her thoughts, his head snapped over to hers. They stared each other down for a moment until she sheepishly deactivated her bloodline limit and looked away into the trees. So this was the man Hiashi had always pushed her twin to aspire to be like.

Sasuke gave a sneer to his older brother. "I'm fine," he muttered.

" _Did he touch you?"_

Sasuke seemed visibly shocked by his brother's change in tone. It was quite rare for Itachi to sound so demanding. She decided to answer for him.

"He didn't. I seem to recall that his teeth made contact with your sword, though." Her eyes had returned to their usual droop and she looked at Itachi through hooded eyes, trying to get a handle on the elusive ninja.

He didn't even spare her a glance though. He seemed satisfied enough with the answer, and stood up. "Continue on with the exam. We will be watching."

 _That's not creepy_ , she thought. Though his words were probably meant to be comforting.

As one, the two Anbu gave them a nod and disappeared. They stood in silence for what was probably way too long, before finally Lee spoke.

"That man who attacked us was not very youthful, was he?" He frowned.

With his words, they all relaxed a fraction, finally realizing that the situation was over. "Well, what a waste of time." TenTen began. "We decided to interfere, only be completely useless. And then Anbu shows up and saves the day in about two seconds." She covered her eyes with a hand and sighed in disappointment.

Natsuka scowled when she realized her teammate was right. What a huge waste of time.

Sakura shakily got to her feet and looked at Team Gai questioningly. "You guys… decided to interfere?"

Before any of them could reply, a disgustingly familiar voice invaded the clearing. "AHHH! That snake tried to eat me! KAMI. I thought I was a goner for sure, but these two guys showed up and cut me out! I think I'm gonna be sick though…"

She sighed. "Naruto-san. So nice to see you again." The boy, covered in filth, turned to look at her with widened eyes. She belatedly realized that this was the first time she'd ever addressed him directly.

Slowly, the corners of his mouth lifted in a smile, and his stunning blue eyes widened. "You can just call me Naruto, Hyuuga lady." He lifted an arm to rub his head in a bashful gesture.

 _Hyuuga lady_? Apparently no one had taught this kid any manners.

"Her name is Natsuka." TenTen supplied helpfully.

"Naruto!" Sakura's voice interrupted their little chat, and she had tears running down her face. "We thought you were dead." Naruto smiled at the girl and embraced her in a warm hug.

Natsuka frowned at that. The touching moment tugged at her in a painful way. They'd gotten their comrade back. She hadn't.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked, and she didn't appreciate his tone.

"We were trying to help you out, brat." She spoke in her best arrogant-Hyuuga voice.

"Tch. That worked out well, didn't it?"

Her jaw tightened and her eyes narrowed, but TenTen spoke up before she could give the Uchiha a proper beat down.

"Look, we were just trying to help you out. We'll be going now. Still have a Heaven scroll to get, after all." Team 7 suddenly all shared a _look_ , and Natsuka didn't fail to notice it.

"You have a Heaven scroll, don't you?" She took a menacing step forward, but a hand on her shoulder made her pause. It was Lee, and he was giving her a meaningful look.

She let out a deep sigh and rolled her eyes, not caring about propriety in front of a few kids. "Fine." She said sullenly. "Let's just go." And before anyone could say a thing, she'd leaped onto a branch above them, ready to take off.

TenTen wordlessly followed, and Lee gave Team 7 a friendly wave before doing the same. They took off, still in need of a scroll. Two and a half days left.

* * *

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. They'd passed a team from Kirigakure looking worse for wear later in the afternoon, only to discover that they also had an Earth scroll. It was disappointing, because the Kiri team didn't look like they'd be able to put up much of a fight. They continued on without much commotion, and they had yet to run into anyone else.

They hadn't been able to resist casting furtive glances into the shadows every so often. The interruption with Orochimaru had grated on their nerves. Fortunately, they were slowly but surely regaining their footing.

It would be dark within the hour. Already, Natsuka could see the light around them beginning to dim. They could travel a bit further before stopping for the night.

Something rustled in the trees a short distance away. The three of them stopped at once. Lee was in his fighting stance, TenTen was crouched down on a knee and ready to move, and her own hand was hovering over her kunai pouch.

TenTen's eyes were narrowed. "Before we do anything, I'm just gonna suggest that we don't get involved again, sound good?" Lee frowned but didn't respond, and she gave her teammate a mutual smirk of understanding. "We can't afford to waste time again." She said in an attempt to negotiate.

Lee's friendly nature didn't allow him to not lend a helping hand when someone was in need. It was at odds with both of his teammate's personalities, but Natsuka was beginning to think it was a nice change. Where would they be right now if it were Neji in Lee's place? There was a new dynamic amongst the members of Team Gai that hadn't been there before.

"You are right, Natsuka-chan." But Lee was still looking longingly in the direction of the sound. "But… perhaps you could observe the situation?"

Her eyes went to the sky and she held back a sigh. _Oh, Lee._ There was a part of her that didn't want to disappoint her new teammate. So with a quiet whisper, she activated her Kekkei Genkai. TenTen looked at her, surprised at the girl's willingness to appease their male teammate.

But just as the veins around her eyes tightened and her pupils became visible, Natsuka let out a high-pitched squeal as a tiny buzz filled her left ear.

Hey teammates actually jumped in shock. Lee even fell off the branch he stood on. That had probably been the most girlish sound to ever come out of Natsuka's mouth.

Her head whipped towards the sound and what she saw caused her to nearly jump several feet in the air. It was a tiny _bug_.

Natsuka did _not_ take kindly to bugs.

It appeared to some sort of small flying beetle, and she was just about to fling it away into infinity when something about it caught her eye.

This bug had chakra. She was baffled. This tiny creature hovering inches from her face had _chakra_. That was simply not possible.

"What…" she muttered. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a lightbulb went off and she whipped her head around towards the direction of the original sound.

Three chakra signatures. "It's another Rookie 9 squad." She spoke to her teammates. "I think it's… Team 8."

"How can you tell?" TenTen questioned.

"This is one of the Aburame's kikaichu." Slowly, she drifted a hand up towards the insect, palm out. She held in a cringe as it landed delicately on her hand. Luckily for her, it didn't seem to want to bite her.

TenTen raised a brow at her but didn't question the discovery. Upon hearing that a Konoha squad was within the vicinity, Lee said, "Our comrades! What is Shino-san's friend doing all the way over here though?"

Inwardly, she thought it was very kind of Lee to refer to the bug as Shino's "friend."

She observed the tiny insects agitated chakra, and then matched it to the signature in the distance. Also agitated. The two other signatures were the same. _Damn it._

"I think they're in trouble." She said slowly after a few moments.

Lee's eyes widened comically, but before he could utter a word she held up a hand. "Let's just head over there." She muttered, sounding defeated.

Both of TenTen's eyebrows were now raised, but a small smile graced her face and brightened her eyes. She silently approved of her teammates change in attitude.

"Yosh!" And they were all momentarily blinded by the flash of brilliantly white teeth.

The signatures were very close. They only had to jump across a few dozen tree branches before they came upon the scene.

Shino lay sprawled across the ground, patches of blood spread across his clothing. Kiba didn't seem to be doing much better laying sprawled out a few feet away, Akamaru sleeping at his side. He was breathing harshly and clutching his side. Their third teammate, the strange boy Natsuka remembered seeing during the first part of the exam, was still standing. He appeared to be keeping watch and brandished a kunai when they came into view.

TenTen pointed to the hitai-ate across her forehead and held out a hand in a placating manner. "Easy. We're Konoha nin too, see? We just came to see if you need any help."

The strange boy stared at them blankly and she wondered if he hadn't comprehended the words, when Kiba's voice rang out. "Damn it, Sai! Will you relax for a sec? Ugh." He clutched his side even harder and let out a wet cough. A thin stream of blood drippled down his chin.

"Kiba-san! My name is Rock Lee, and my team and I are here to assist! Are you injured?"

 _Obviously they are_ , she thought.

"I'm fine," Kiba panted out. "Just got kicked in a bad spot. Old injury acting up."

"What happened?" She asked. They'd clearly been attacked and it hadn't ended in their favor, but she wanted to know details.

"We were ambushed in the middle of the night by a team from Otogakure. Shino-san was poisoned, Kiba-san sustained injuries, and we have been immobilized since then." The boy, Sai, answered with his face still eerily blank. His voice had about as much emotion as a tree.

Something about him was suspicious. For one, she couldn't recall having seen him _ever_. Not at the academy, and not around the village.

As if sensing her narrowed eyes aimed his way, he turned to her and gave her a stiff wave. His mouth adjusted into what she supposed was an attempt at a friendly smile.

"Perhaps you could take a look at him?" He asked her, emotionless as ever. He gestured towards Shino.

Well, that was probably a good idea. Hastily she kneeled at Shino's side and gave his chakra network a closer look. Hey brows furrowed. "I don't know what kind of poison this is, but it's serious. His major tenketsu points are clogged by it and his kikaichu cannot travel throughout his body properly. His whole system is out of whack."

Her frown deepened. "He needs medical attention. Why haven't you gotten to the tower?" Perhaps they were still in need of a scroll, but Natsuka though that obtaining a scroll was rather pointless when a teammate's life was potentially at stake.

"As I said, we are immobilized."

She ran her eyes over Sai's _upright_ form, but Kiba spoke again before she could say anything. "Because I can't move, ok! Sai can't carry both of us, and we can't risk separating out here."

She hadn't realized Kiba's injuries were that serious. Just what had that Oto team done to them?

She rubbed her chin thoughtfully as she contemplated the situation. Finally, she nodded in resolution and got to her feet. "Do you guys still need a scroll?" When Sai wordlessly shook his head, she nodded to herself again.

"We'll help you get to the tower."

Everyone was shocked, to say the least. TenTen's jaw actually dropped open, and Lee slapped his hands over his cheeks. Kiba stopped panting for a moment and even Sai's eyes widened by a fraction. "Why would you do that?" He asked.

She merely shrugged and turned to Lee. "You're our comrades. And besides, it wouldn't be fair for you to be unable to complete the exam just because you couldn't reach the tower."

"Oh, Natsuka-chan~!" Lee proceeded to melt into a puddle on the forest floor.

She cringed. "Lee, seriously? Get up."

TenTen took the initiative and began dishing out a plan. "Sai and I can carry Kiba. Suka, Lee, can you hold onto Shino?" When they both nodded in agreement she hurried to Kiba's side to begin helping him up. Natsuka and Lee did the same for Shino. They had to use more care because the boy was completely unconscious. His heart was beating at a rather sluggish pace.

"So you guys were headed for the tower too, huh?" Kiba asked them through gritted teeth, the pain obviously still bothering him. Next to him, Akamaru let out a huge yawn and got his feet. He was limping on his back right foot, but appeared to be able to walk.

TenTen was slow to answer him. "No… not exactly. We still need a Heaven scroll."

Kiba seemed stunned at the information. "Then why-"

"We have two days to find a scroll. We will continue our search after we drop you off at the tower." Natsuka's voice left no room for further discussion. If they kept talking about it she just might change her mind.

The journey to the tower was slow-going and exhausting. They could not leap from branch to branch for fear of injuring Kiba or Shino, so they had to trek across the forest floor. It soon got dark, and with no light to illuminate their path they tripped every few steps before hastily regaining their footing. By the time they finally reached the large wooden building her feet ached, they were all covered in small cuts and dirt, and she was ready to collapse.

"This is as far as we go," she said at the entrance. She nearly groaned aloud at thought of continuing on to find somewhere to camp for the night.

In the dark, she could just barely make out Kiba's features. He was staring at her with an odd look in his eyes. "What scroll did you say you guys needed?"

She rolled her eyes at that. Why was he wasting her time asking such questions? "Heaven." She said shortly.

Slowly and silently, he dropped his arm from TenTen's shoulder and snuck a hand into his pocket. He removed an object and a glint of silver caught her eye. Wordlessly, he held it up to her, palm open.

 _A Heaven scroll_. "Wha-"

"We have two. We got one off a Kumo team yesterday. Took it just in case it ended up being useful. Turned out it was."

She blinked. "Why-"

"I know you're Hinata's cousin." Her breath caught in her throat. "I know about the whole marriage thing. Honestly, I think your clan is pretty messed up and I don't like them." He paused for a moment. "But it was pretty cool of you to help us out. You're not so bad, for a Hyuuga."

She brought her hand up to take the scroll. Just like that, all their problems were wiped away. "I… I don't know what to say. Except that you're right about my clan." She let out a small scoff. "But anyway… thanks." Natsuka was usually much more graceful with her words, but the gesture she'd just witnessed had shocked her.

"Thank you Kiba-kun!" Lee smiled and saluted the boy. TenTen merely smiled her thanks and clapped Kiba gently on the shoulder.

The six Genin walked into the tower together, and she couldn't help but wonder again how different the situation would be if her brother were still here. All of the Rookie 9… those were people that Neji would consider weak. Destiny had decreed it, as he would say. Would he have stopped to lend aid as Lee had been so adamant to do?

These were the thoughts clouding her mind when TenTen asked her a question.

"Wait a minute. What did Kiba mean about _marriage thing_?"

* * *

Another Authors Note: To clarify a few things – Natsuka was able to sense something wrong with Gaara's chakra because of her Byakugan. She cannot see anything wrong with Naruto's chakra because the Kyuubi isn't as aggressive or out of control as Shukaku is. And as far as the Orochimaru confrontation goes, I decided to not have them fight a whole lot. It just wouldn't be realistic. A Sannin would totally destroy a few Genin.

Thanks for reading~


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 8: Contenders to your marks

 _That's why I say the things that I say_

 _That way I know you can't ignore me_

* * *

An old man with a scar on his chin and bandages covering most of his face stared down at the pitiful figure lying before him. To many, Danzo Shimura was a man that the eye easily passed over. He was practically ancient for a ninja after all, and relied on a cane to take him from place to place. There were less than a few people that truly considered him a threat. And that was the way he liked it.

Unfortunately for him, Neji Hyuuga knew that looks could be deceiving.

"Get up."

The man's words were cold and unforgiving. His voice promised nothing but violence and brutality if not obeyed. If Neji did not stand up, he would regret it.

Slowly and agonizingly, he began to pull himself up, fighting gravity to get up off the ground.

"A prodigy, they call you." With a sneer, Danzo gave the preteen a savage kick to his side, directly over one of his fractured ribs. A horrible cough escaped the boys mouth, and blood splattered out onto the floor. He fell back down again, and did not move. "What a disgrace. By the time I am done with you, you will know how truly _weak_ you were before."

Neji's mind and body were a whirlwind of pain and confusion. A haze of thoughts drifted through his mind faster than he could process them. Not once in his fourteen years of life had he ever considered himself weak. But there he was, lying on the floor, bruised and beaten and covered in his own filth. Unable to defend himself as this man tortured his body, his mind, and his soul. While still figures stood around them with porcelain masks, watching in silence.

It was almost too much for Neji to bear. And as he looked up at the village elder before him, he began to believe his words.

Unbeknownst to him, Danzo internally cackled with glee as he began to see the hope fade from the boy's eyes. The "Will of Fire", it was called. It would do him no good here.

Neji's vision began to dim as his consciousness failed him. One of the agents took a step forward, ready to heal the boy's injuries to begin the process again, but Danzo held up a hand. He smiled.

"He can take a bit more."

 _Natsuka. I'm doing this for you._

* * *

Natsuka was lounging on the ground with her back against the wall when her nose twitched and a rather adorable sneeze escaped her mouth.

TenTen, sitting to her right and sharpening kunai, giggled. "Don't get sick now, Natsuka-chan. The Hokage will be here any second."

"I'm not sick."

"Just like you're not engaged?"

The reply had been quick and sharp. She groaned. TenTen could be unforgiving when she really wanted to be. She'd given her teammates a vague rundown of her current situation after they'd arrived at the tower. Mostly because TenTen wouldn't let the subject drop.

After receiving some harsh insults to the Hyuuga name by TenTen and lots of frowns from Lee, they'd gratefully decided to let it go for the time being after seeing how uncomfortable the topic made her.

She hadn't quite come to terms with the fact that she was betrothed, and she wasn't ready to face the issue anytime soon. In fact, she'd been studiously ignoring Team 8 since their arrival to the tower. Probably not a very nice thing to do after Kiba's kind gesture, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

There'd been no word of Orochimaru from anyone. It was as if the whole thing hadn't even happened. She might even believe that if it weren't for all the Anbu roaming the place in droves. She hadn't been able to go to the bathroom without passing at least three of them in the hallway. Somehow she doubted that such a heightened Anbu presence was normal for a mere Chunin exam.

If other competitors took notice of it, they did not make comments on the matter. Natsuka herself was unnerved, rather than comforted by the presence of such elite nin. If they were still here, there was still a threat. Orochimaru was not dead.

She sighed and glanced around the room. Who could've known that an entire arena could be hidden within a seemingly small building in the middle of the Forest of Death? They'd been directed here about an hour earlier, and were currently awaiting the arrival of the Hokage. The four days were up.

Much like the first part of the exam, Natsuka was surprised at the amount of competitors that'd made it through. When they'd arrived two days ago, she'd been shocked to see that the rest of the Rookie 9 were already there. _Can't believe those brats beat us here_ , she thought.

There'd been a team from Kiri, two from Kumo, and that strange Suna team here already as well. After quietly asking around she'd discovered that the Suna team had arrived to the tower in _four_ hours.

Incredible. She was grateful now that her instincts had warned her against trying to go against them.

There were well over double that many teams here now. They'd spent much of the past couple of days spending time with the other Konoha genin and lounging around. Natsuka herself had mostly been doing the latter.

Lee seemed to have become quite taken with Team 7. Even now, she could see him across the room kneeling before Sakura with hearts in his eyes. _Gross_. He'd also become fast friends with Naruto, and that didn't come as a surprise to her at all. They were both unrealistically idealistic and ambitious. It might be charming, if it weren't so annoying.

Yesterday, they'd spent half the day competing in a spur of the moment shogi competition. Only a Nara would think to bring a shogi board into a deadly forest. Unfortunately, more than half the Rookie 9 either didn't understand shogi or didn't have the patience for it.

It'd ended with Natsuka facing off against Shikamaru in a two-hour long match, cheerleaders on the sidelines and all. Except for the brooding Uchiha. Somehow, he'd lost to Naruto in the quarterfinals.

The game ended when she crushed a piece into dust and blew it into Shikamaru's face. He might say the game ended when he check-mated her, but that was just a lie. _A lie._

Looking around now at the Konoha Genin interspersed amongst the crowd of foreign nin, a wave of nostalgia overtook her. She wished her twin could be here with her. This was a moment in their lives that they should have experienced together.

"Suka!" A hand snapped its fingers in her face, and she blinked suddenly at the intrusion. "Don't snap at me, Ten-chan." She grumbled.

"Pay attention then!" The girl chirped, unperturbed. "Come back to the present, because the Hokage's here!" Excitement filled her voice.

"Yosh!" A wild Lee suddenly appeared before them. Well, at least they didn't have to go collect him now. "Did you have fun with your new friends Lee?" She couldn't help but ask.

He got a dazed look in his eyes and clasped his hands together. "Yes… however, I must ask you a very serious question."

 _Lee, serious?_ She raised a brow. "Go ahead then."

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Do you think Sakura-san will be my girlfriend?!" When his eyes opened again, they were once again filled with hearts.

 _Kami, I hope not._ "…Sure Lee, sure."

"I believe in you, champ." TenTen smiled at him and gave him a pat on the back. She winked at Natsuka when his head was turned.

She stifled a laugh and ambled to her feet. She and her teammates arranged themselves into a somewhat professional formation as the rest of the participants did the same. Across the arena a familiar white robe and hat came into view.

The Hokage stopped before the Genin, who went silent at once and straightened at his attention. "Congratulations on making it this far." He looked around the room. "My, there are so many of you this year." He spoke so casually and with such ease that Natsuka got the feeling he already knew exactly how many participants there were. He probably knew all of their heights and weights too.

At least part of her hunch proved to be true when he spoke again. "This a bit of a phenomenon. It has been quite some time since we've had this many participants this far into the exam."

Natsuka really doubted he was telling them all this just to have a friendly chat.

"Because of this, we will hold a preliminary match before the finals."

Her eyes narrowed. Around them, a few stifled groans could be heard. She didn't disagree with the sentiment. They'd come all the way here only to be told that they weren't done?

"That's it. I'm out." An unfamiliar voice spoke up from somewhere in the back. She was curious enough to turn her head and see who it was, when another voice spoke up.

"Kabuto, what!" It was Naruto. "You can't quit now! You got all the way here!"

Kabuto? Her eyes locked onto the figure and she realized she knew him. It was the same teen she'd seen days earlier at the first part of the exam. The one with gray hair and unnecessarily large glasses.

The teen scratched his head bashfully and smiled at Naruto. "Sorry, I'm just so exhausted and I don't think I can handle a prelim match before the actual finals even start." He shrugged helplessly as if saying _"what can you do?"_ And then he just walked out, his two teammates wordlessly following behind him.

Well, that was anticlimactic. And rather strange. She trudged through the memories in her mind, but came up blank and she _knew_ she'd never seen Kabuto or his teammates before even though they all wore the signature Leaf hitai-ate. Just like she'd never seen Sai. She was perfectly aware that she'd grown up isolated within the clutches of her clan and compound, but come on. She hadn't realized just how extremely isolated she was until now. She sighed drearily.

She was distracted from her thoughts by a hard jab to her side. She winced as TenTen gestured towards the Hokage with her head. Her twin buns bounced at the movement. She didn't know why that caught her eye, but she nearly laughed aloud before focusing once again on their village leader. Oh, he was in the middle of saying something.

"…is going to leave, we will begin now. The matchups will be randomly selected on the screen ahead."

She turned to the huge screen on the opposite end of the arena as it started moving through names. Oh wow, they were really doing this now. She carefully stretched her limbs and cracked her knuckles, her body tensing in anticipation for the fight to come. Team Gai had yet to do much of any fighting so far in the exam, and they were more than ready.

The scrambling names slowed and came to a crawl before stopping completely.

Yoroi Akado versus Zaku Abumi. No one she knew. She was surprised though, when one of Kabuto's teammates leaped into the ring. She didn't know who was who, but the other boy who stepped up bore an Oto headband across his forehead. Oto, the Sound Village, was probably the smallest village in attendance. It was a seemingly miniscule village that came into existence only a few short years ago. She wondered what sort of jutsu the sound nin would display.

The proctor for this stage of the exam had been introduced by the Hokage. Hayete was his name. He wore the signature Jounin attire and his words were interrupted every few moments by a dry cough.

"If all participants are ready, you may begi -cough- begin."

Jeez, someone get that guy some chicken soup. The two nin stood facing each other for a good few seconds before either of them moved. The Konoha nin's eyes were covered by strange looking dark glasses, but she noted that the sound nin had an odd look in his eyes. And both of them seemed hesitant to begin fighting.

After a split second of internal debate, she decided to activate her Byakugan. Her control was precise enough that it would waste little chakra just to watch, and her reserves were overflowing as it was.

Strangely enough, the chakra of the two boy's in the arena had a faltering air to it. It _was_ hesitance. The two shinobi were _hesitant_.

She scoffed. If they didn't want to fight, why bother stepping foot into the arena? It seemed she'd made a bit too much noise when she saw more than a few heads turn her way out of the corner of her eyes. Several lingered, probably noticing her activated bloodline limit. She merely shrugged. It's not like she could hide the Byakugan; her signature eyes gave her heritage away.

As if sensing the delay they were causing, the two nin sprang into action. Their chakra stopped its slow swirl and strung tight. Resolution. Well, at least now they'd see some action.

They met in the middle of the arena and exchanged a few measly blows. The Konoha nin delivered a harsh kick to the Sound nin's side that should have been easily avoided. Her eyes zeroed in on the inconsistency and she realized one of the Sound boy's arms was dangling uselessly at his side.

It was obviously broken. She sighed. This would be a quick match after all.

And indeed it was; the match only lasted another seven minutes. She'd counted. After a rather weak show of taijutsu, the Konoha nin finished off the Oto kid with a strange sort of leeching jutsu that sucked nearly all of the boy's chakra out of his body. She'd seen it with her own eyes but couldn't make much sense of it. Chakra had seemingly been pulled from one body into another. It was rather discomforting to watch and she'd bet it was massively uncomfortable.

After medics came and scooped the poor kid away, the screen sorted through another pair of names.

 _Sakura Haruno versus Ino Yamanaka_. Natsuka now leaned against the fence of the arena causally, with a hand holding her head up. This might be more interesting. Konoha versus Konoha. She wasn't close with either of the girls and thus didn't really care which one of them won.

A niggling memory surfaced into her brain suddenly and she remembered that technically, she did know Ino. Her dad was also conveniently Natsuka's therapist. She hadn't yet spent a whole lot of time with the Yamanaka man, but she was rather fond of his green tea.

And so, she gave a little sniff, raised a single finger into the air, waved it around, and said "Go Ino." It was possibly the most deadpan voice she'd ever mustered.

Both TenTen and Lee looked at her as if she were psychotic. "You're just bursting with energy today," TenTen said, equally deadpan. Lee, however, seemed to be having different thoughts. "Suka-chan~! How could you cheer for my future girlfriend's rival!" His eyes were even starting to water. She rolled her own and looked back to the arena.

Ino Yamanaka was staring at her with a rather baffled look on her face. Oh, so the girl had heard her. Pretty good hearing on her part. She certainly hadn't been yelling with enthusiasm. Since Natsuka knew she'd been caught, she simple lifted a hand and gave the girl an airy wave. Ino's mouth fell open.

Just when she was ready to shout at the two girls to get on with the match, their proctor said it for her. She slouched against the fence even further, ready to enjoy the show in comfort, when a large hand slapped her on the back. She let out a tiny gasp and spun around, ready to smack some sense into whoever-

"Yosh!"

 _Oh kami._

Her eyes went heavenward. "Gai-sensei, there is match going on. Please keep your voice down."

Their rambunctious sensei smiled and gave her and TenTen a pat on the head. He then turned to Lee and she just _knew_ what was about to happen.

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"LEE-"

" _I said be quiet."_ She hissed in a muted whisper.

"GAI-SENSEI!" If whisper-yelling were a sport, Lee would be the master of it.

The two then proceeded to melt into a puddle of warmth and happy tears on the floor, and she couldn't help but roll her eyes again. She and TenTen shared a mutual look of understanding and turned back to the arena.

"Hello, Kakashi-san." She'd noticed the man standing beside her sensei right away but hadn't chosen to voice it. Since he appeared to be sticking around, she decided to greet him.

"Yo, Natsuka-chan." He greeted her without so much as looking up from his orange book.

His words got her attention, however. She turned her head to give him a pointed look with a raised brow.

 _Did you just call me Natsuka-chan?_

 _I did. What are you going to do about it?_

 _Well. I guess nothing at all. Kakashi-kun._

The conversation had been entirely silent and consisted only of raised and furrowed eyebrows and the crinkling of Kakashi's single visible eye. She huffed quietly and turned back around again. She didn't miss his near-silent chuckle.

Ninja. She sighed.

The match below them appeared to be in full swing. But, she was saddened to see, it was not remarkably entertaining to watch by any means. Honestly, it was rather dull. She tuned out of everything around her and blanked out for the duration of match, though her eyes never left the arena.

She came to when she felt the air near her shift. Kakashi had appeared in the arena to retrieve his unconscious student. Natsuka blinked when she saw that there two figures on the ground. Ino's sensei, Asuma, also appeared. Both the girls were out cold. A double knockout; how odd.

Several more matches passed by in a blur. TenTen faced a kunoichi from Kumo and easily took control of the match in its early stages. She'd displayed a stunning show of her weapon's arsenal, and the Kumo nin had been forced to admit defeat when she'd become surrounded by a barrage exploding tags attached to kunai.

Natsuka was fiercely proud of her teammate.

After what seemed like an eternity, the large screen finally lit up with her own name.

 _Natsuka Hyuuga versus Kin Tsuchi._

A deafening cheer from her sensei, an equally deafening cheer from Lee, and a slightly less deafening cheer from TenTen. She gracefully hopped into the arena and pretended she didn't know them.

An Oto nin landed across from her. She had dull black eyes and insanely long black hair that nearly reached her feet. It was tied back in a neat ponytail, but Natsuka silently wondered how sensible that really was. She'd thought Sakura and Ino had long hair, but this was on a whole new level. The girl was also wearing baggy black and gray spotted pants, and she thought it made her look a bit like a cow. She loved cows. Especially baby cows. Didn't really strike fear in your enemies, though.

She supposed she couldn't really talk about being intimidating. She wasn't much better off in her drab long sleeved gray shirt and boring shinobi pants. It likely didn't help that she was on the shorter side compared to most of the competitors. Including the girl in front of her. Said girl was currently glaring at her with a cocky little smirk.

Natsuka sighed. So it was going to be like that.

Their proctor coughed into a hand and then told them they could begin. Like the first match, neither of them immediately moved. The Oto nin's smirk didn't leave her face though.

As she analyzed the long-haired girl's mediocre chakra network, she remembered her Byakugan was still on. Her brows furrowed as she had a small internal debate with herself. Was it rude to go into a match with your bloodline limit already activated? Did Sasuke do that in his match? Had he even fought yet? She couldn't remember. Had his Sharingan even been awakened yet? Her head had begun to tilt a bit to the side and she'd brought a hand up to rub her chin thoughtfully.

"Too terrified to attack first?" The Sound shinobi gave her a sharp-toothed smile. "Then allow me!"

"Terrified" seemed like a bit of a stretch, but Natsuka merely shrugged and slipped into a loose fighting stance. Feet apart and a single palm up, it was slightly lazier version of the Gentle Fist style. The girl was rushing at her but she couldn't help but think the shinobi in front of her was moving slower than a snail.

When the girl, Kin was her name, finally reached her, she brought out a fist to her face. Except, she'd seen it coming a mile away and simply tilted her head a couple inches to the right. Kin brought her other fist up to aim a punch into her side, but she'd seen that coming too. She latched one of her own hands onto Kin's shoulder and effortlessly lifted herself up and over the girl, landing a few feet behind her.

"You're incredibly slow." She couldn't help but observe.

Kin growled and spun around. "We're just getting started!"

Instead of rushing her head-on again as she'd suspected, Kin leaped back and took a defensive stance. She then reached into a pouch and withdrew a handful of senbon. She flung her arm and the senbon started to fly straight at her. Natsuka raised an eyebrow at the girl and raised both her flattened palms into the air. The tiny needles she couldn't evade were simply struck out of the air with her bare hands, landing on the arena ground with a tiny _ping_ sound and bent angles.

Kin glanced to her, then to the damaged senbon on the ground, then back to her. She was obviously taken aback by her speed.

 _Looks can be deceiving._

Kin paused for only a moment though, before she flung her hands into a few quick seals and executed a silent jutsu. Suddenly, Natsuka was seeing a dozen Kin's. The figures were hazy and blurry, and for some reason she couldn't pinpoint her eyes on any one of them. A dull ringing sound filled her ears and she realized she was finally witnessing an actual _sound_ jutsu.

The ringing in her ears and the muddy vision were no doubt a ploy meant to confuse and distract her. The identical figures started moving in on her, beginning to circle her in an attempt to cage her in. It should have been worrying at the very least. However, Natsuka started laughing.

It started as a tiny chuckle, then a quiet giggle, before it escalated into hearty laughter.

All of the Kin's stopped as one and stared at her with identical wide eyes.

She clutched her stomach as her abdomen started cramping, and then hunched over with her hands on her knees. She finally managed to quiet down a bit after several moments and reached up to leisurely wipe a tear from her eye.

"Did you think," she said calmly, "that a genjutsu would work on _me_?"

She couldn't believe the kunoichi before had actually tried to trap a Hyuuga inside a genjutsu. With her Byakugan obviously activated. Did the girl know nothing?

Kin just looked vaguely confused. And angry. She sighed. _Apparently not_.

Laughter now gone, she decided suddenly that she was becoming bored. She held her hands up in a Tiger seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

Four additional Natsuka'a now joined the original. As one, they surged into motion. The clones moved to disperse the genjutsu Kin's while Natsuka went straight for the real nin. Kin found a Hyuuga inches from her face in the span of a blink. She sprung a hand out, two delicate fingers perfectly straight, and delivered a harsh blow to the tenketsu point in the middle of the girl's throat.

Not only was the chakra path to her brain disrupted, her throat had also been effectively closed. Kin fell onto her knees as one by one, the genjustu clones around them poofed out of existence. She let her own clones disperse as well.

Kin was now frantically pawing at her own throat, her mouth gaping in a silent and desperate attempt to take in a breath. It would only take a few moments for the girl to lose enough oxygen cells to die.

Natsuka looked to the proctor, tapping a foot. After a moment Hayate nodded in acceptance of the outcome of the match. "Match over. Natsuka Hyuuga is the winner.

Wordlessly she crouched over the fallen girl and jabbed a slightly gentler palm into the same spot on her throat. The silent arena was filled with the sound of the Oto kunoichi taking in a deep, wheezing breath. Her eyes rolled back into her head for a moment before her head dropped towards the floor and she simply kneeled there, unmoving. Defeated in more ways than one.

Natsuka turned around and walked away, not sparing the girl another glance. It would not due to show respect towards those who had not earned it.

Her sensei, watching from above, was overcome with disappointment at the scene before him. It was considered proper etiquette to thank your opponent after a match, and Natsuka had most definitely not done so. He knew that a pet peeve of his student's was to be underestimated, though she would probably never admit it. What she'd just done was eerily reminiscent of something her brother might do.

With their many differences, it was sometimes easy to forget just how similar they actually were.

* * *

"Congratulations on making it this far." The Hokage repeated the same words he'd spoken earlier. Though now, to far fewer Genin. "Those of you that were victorious in your preliminary matches will move on to the finals being held in one month's time. In order to completely randomize the matches, you've all been instructed to draw numbers. The order of matches will be displayed on the screen momentarily." And with that, their kage decided to take his exit. He was followed by a small army of Anbu.

She looked to her teammates and couldn't hide the small sheen of excitement in her eyes. After her match, Lee faced off against Kiba and probably to the shock of the majority of the room, won. All of Team Gai would compete in the finals.

She held up the small slip of paper in her hand. Five. She'd be the third match. They turned to the screen where the finalized matches were just appearing.

 _Match 1: Sasuke Uchiha vs. Gaara Subaku_

 _Match 2: Temari Subaku vs. Shikamaru Nara_

 _Match 3: Natsuka Hyuuga vs. TenTen_

She didn't bother to scan over the rest of the matches when she saw her own. Her heart had clenched as a funny feeling came over her. Discomfort. She turned to her teammate, only to see her already staring at her. TenTen held up her own slip of paper. Six.

Oh.

"I'm gonna get my ass kicked." Rather than sound upset by the notion, TenTen's voice remained friendly and amicable. _She isn't upset_ , Natsuka realized.

"TenTen… I don't want to fight you." It took her several seconds to get the words out, because she didn't fully understand them.

More than anything she wanted to _win_ and _succeed_. It had been driven into her since birth to do just that. There was simply no other option. Failure to make Chunin the first time around would simply be another stain upon her already darkened reputation amongst her clan.

Natsuka would not realize for some time how backwards her thoughts were. Her mind was constantly riddled with animosity and dislike of her own family, yet when it came down to it she wanted so badly to make them proud.

TenTen smiled at her friend. "It'll be alright Natsuka-chan." She told her gently. "Just think of it as a sparring match, ok?"

Slowly and with trepidation, Natsuka nodded. And hesitantly, she returned her friend's smile.

* * *

Later the next evening, the head of the prestigious Uchiha clan sat down to a dinner in honor of the second son's advancement to the finals of the Chunin exam. They were all in attendance. Matriarch and patriarch - Mikoto and Fukaku - along with their two sons Itachi and Sasuke. The heirs. Strangely enough, there was a fifth member at the dinner table tonight.

"Sasu-chan~! I'm so proud of my chibi cousin." Shisui Uchiha, cousin to Itachi and Sasuke, spoke up in between a mouthful of rice.

Sasuke merely groaned and cursed his cousin's existence. Mikoto smiled fondly at her nephew and Fukaku rolled his eyes. A corner of his mouth upturned ever so slightly. Itachi, as was usual, said nothing.

"So how's it been so far? You know, besides the whole Oro-"

"Shisui." The Uchiha matriarch spoke sharply. "There will be no talk of S-ranked missing nin at my dinner table."

Shisui looked at his aunt bashfully and apologized. "Sorry auntie Mikoto." His puppy dog eyes worked wonders on even the most stoic of Uchiha.

"So, Sasuke?"

The younger son finished chewing before bothering to reply to his older, though less mature, cousin. "Tch. Fine. It's been easy so far. My prelim match was a joke." He rolled his eyes. "Besides that… event, nothing out of the ordinary happened." His eyes widened a fraction suddenly as a thought, unbidden, entered his mind.

Shisui, ever the observant one, did not miss the change. "Hmm?"

"Well, there was one other thing." The young preteen was frowning in confusion now. "This girl-"

"A girl! Oh, Sasuke-chan."

Now even Itachi seemed interested. His eyes flitted back and forth between his cousin and brother. Was his brother truly infatuated with a girl, already? He'd have to run background checks and medical records soon.

"Not like that!" his face reddened, ever so slightly. "This Hyuuga girl said something to me before the first part of the exam started. She said, 'tell your family members to stop bothering me.' What the hell does that even mean?"

"Language." Mikoto reached across the table and swatted her son's hand with a chopstick.

Shisui and Itachi both blinked for a moment before Itachi looked at Shisui, and he at him. Itachi's brows furrowed and Shisui's eyes widened. Then he started laughing hysterically. Itachi relaxed and actually _rolled his eyes._

Sasuke was beyond confused. Crazy ninja.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Author's Note: Shino's peculiar way of speaking isn't gonna be a thing here. I'd just end up forgetting about it half the time.

Warning: dialogue, dialogue, and more dialogue

 _If your friends told you to go jump off a bridge, would you?_

* * *

Chapter 9: Now that I see you

 **A few weeks ago…**

"This is simply unacceptable, Hokage-sama. I demand to know the meaning behind this atrocious lack of action!"

Once again, the Hokage's office was abuzz with fluctuating voices. Not quite so many this time, but still too many in Hiruzen's opinion. He could already feel a migraine coming on.

Before him stood the Hyuuga clan head and several of his advisors. They all wore angry faces and disdainful sneers, as was typical of their clan.

"As I've said, Hiashi, there is nothing that can be done. We cannot just go to war without all the facts."

"My daughter is dead!"

Hiruzen might've felt a moment of sympathy and pity for the man, if he didn't know there were more sinister things going on beneath the surface. He himself had a child, a son. They did not have a good relationship and they were not close, to his deep regret.

But Hiruzen could not even fathom losing Asuma. The pain and loss would overcome him, and he knew that he would never recover. To lose a child was one of the worst things imaginable for a parent.

Hiashi Hyuuga did not look like a man who'd recently experienced such pain and agony.

"And I am incredibly sorry for your loss. But Iwa has claimed innocence. As far as we know, they do not possess knowledge on the whereabouts of the stolen Byakugan."

"Innocence!" Hiashi scoffed. "You would believe a nation of liars and thieves on such a matter? You are nothing but a fool."

Hiruzen's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. He allowed a touch of frost to enter his voice. "It is unwise to call your Hokage a fool, Hiashi. Especially when it could also be said that a man who would rush blindly into action is also a fool."

Hiashi had the grace to be unnerved, but only slightly. "Mark my words, Hokage- _sama_. The Hyuuga have served this village since its founding. And when we ask for one thing in return for our service, we are granted _nothing_. You will regret this."

He left without another word, his silent advisors following close behind. The moment the doors closed, Hiruzen slumped in his chair and bowed his head.

"Not exactly a good talk, eh? I'd keep an eye on them. That wasn't even an attempt at a veiled threat." Shikaku Nara spoke up from the shadows.

"No, it was just an open threat. Worse, when you really think about." The Anbu commander spoke from the other wall, and the Nara nodded in agreement.

The Hokage sighed. He was really getting too old for this. "I'd expect something like this from the Uchiha, what with everything that went on a few years ago. This is just.. a surprise, to say the least." He straightened up and gave his highest ranking Anbu a pointed look.

"Shikaku is right. Keep an eye on him. On all of them."

* * *

 **Now…**

"So you're saying you don't think he's the ugliest human being you've ever seen?"

Natsuka finished chewing the piece of strawberry dango in her mouth before furtively glancing around the restaurant. She spoke in a low whisper, "No, Shisui. I don't think Orochimaru-san is the ugliest person alive. I don't think he even looks alive, actually. He just looks weird."

Shisui and Genma had repeatedly insisted she drop the formalities when speaking to them, and she'd grudgingly started to do it. "While we're on the subject, any updates on that matter?" It was a question she'd asked many times, only to always receive the same answer.

Genma smiled at her through the senbon in his mouth. "Classified."

She narrowed her eyes at him and snatched another stick of dango off the table. "I hope you cut your tongue out with that thing someday." Genma feigned mock hurt while Shisui laughed.

"Oh, Natsuka-chan, your loving personality never ceases to amaze me." She just rolled her eyes at him and focused on her treat.

She'd been spending her lunch break with the two men nearly every day. She really couldn't remember how exactly it'd started, other than running into Shisui the day after preliminaries at the market. He'd insisted that he was starving and had to eat right at that very moment, and dragged her along. When they met again the next day at the same restaurant and she saw Genma sitting beside him, she didn't ask questions.

And here they all were three weeks later.

The Akimichi restaurant was turning out to have some of the best food she'd ever tasted. Undoubtedly the best sweets. One day, a man who Natsuka now knew to be Chouza Akimichi, head of his clan, stopped by as they were eating. He'd noticed Shisui and Genma right away and had stopped to have a friendly chat with them. Afterwards, he'd turned to her and wished her luck in the finals with a pat on the head.

She'd been strangely touched by the gesture, and shocked. She knew his son Chouji was also in the exams, but for the life of her she couldn't even remember if he'd won his preliminary match.

She grabbed yet another stick of the chewy treat. "Woah, woah." Genma said. "What are you, thirteen? Aren't you girls supposed to be watching your figure or some other nonsense at that age?"

Genma seemed to like goading her an awful lot. Unfortunately for her, it always worked. "I'm nearly fifteen, you buffoon." She chewed angrily and quickly, lest she start speaking with her mouth open. Some manners could not be so easily forgotten, after all. "And I'll have you know that I'm _famished_. Training was exceptionally intense today. I need the energy."

Shisui was nodding placating, but Genma wasn't done. "Fifteen, wow! Well, you might want to slow down. Your cheeks are looking a bit chubby."

"That's because there's food in my mouth, not because I'm fat!" Except, the words lost some of their intended affect when they came out barely audible.

"It's rude to speak with your mouth open, ya know." Shisui said seriously.

She slapped a hand over her mouth as her cheeks reddened. She hastily swallowed and stood up. "I hate you both." With a wave tossed over her shoulder, she walked outside and into the sunny warmth of the village. It was left unsaid that they'd all see each other at the same time and place tomorrow.

Shisui looked at the empty plates before them, and then at his teammate. "She left us with the bill."

* * *

After lunch every day, Natsuka always returned to training ground eleven. It was where she spent the majority of her mornings and all of her afternoons.

She and TenTen had come to an understanding. She'd been deeply conflicted at the prospect of fighting her own teammate, but didn't see how it could possibly be avoided. When Team Gai met the day after preliminaries, she hadn't been sure what would happen.

But much like the day she showed up after being gone for so long, she'd been greeted with an air of friendliness and ease that could not be faked. She and TenTen decided right away that they would do exactly as she had suggested, treat it like a sparring match. An intense sparing match.

When their sensei offered to find them separate teachers for the month, since they were fighting each other, they'd both declined. Gai had been moved beyond words, and they'd had to wait a bit for him to finish giving a lesson on youth.

The two girls had privately resolved that no matter the outcome of the match, nothing between them would change.

Since Lee also made it to the finals, training for Team Gai continued on as normal, albeit at an extremely increased intensity. And the trio finally got to spend some much needed time with their newest addition. Sometimes, in the middle of running laps or doing push-ups, Natsuka would be overcome with a wave of bittersweet nostalgia. She still missed her brother very much.

* * *

Natsuka saw Inoichi at least two times a week, usually in the mornings before training. She was officially addicted to his green tea.

"Do you still suffer from nightmares?" He asked her one morning.

She grimaced. "Not every night." He nodded in understanding.

"When you do have them, what are they about?"

It was a loaded question and one he'd asked before. She reiterated her usual answer. "You know, my cousin's dead body. The first man I ever killed. Blood, lots of blood." She casually took a sip of tea. But she was too stiff to fool her observant therapist.

"And what do they say?"

She slumped a bit in her seat. "They blame me for killing them."

"But you didn't kill Hinata, did you? And that man attacked you first. It was self-defense."

They'd been through this before. "I know, Inoichi-san. As you've said, death in our field of work is inevitable. It's kill or be killed in this world."

"Yes, Natsuka-chan, unfortunately it is." Her kind therapist looked a bit somber now. "That's just how it is. I hope you're beginning to understand that."

 _That's just how it is_. So causal they all were, when discussing brutal death. She supposed it couldn't be helped.

"By the way, thanks for cheering for my daughter during your match," Inoichi said, giving her a bright smile.

She groaned. Of course he'd found out about that. "Look, don't take it personally. It was a spur of the moment thing, alright? Don't start thinking Ino-san and I will become the best of friends or anything." But she could already see the wheels turning behind the man's eyes.

"I know my daughter can be very childish at times, but she's also a brilliant young kunoichi, and she has her good moments. Feel free to stop by the flower shop anyday-"

"What did I just say!"

Inoichi laughed. "I think I'll give you a little piece of advice, Natsuka-chan. If you don't accept failure as a possibility, you don't set high goals, you don't branch out, you don't try - you don't take the risk. And if you don't take risks, what do you do?"

For being a therapist and all, Inoichi Yamanaka was surprisingly not a very philosophical man. So to hear something like that come out of his mouth was a surprise indeed. His question did not need an answer, because one did not exist.

 _Nothing_.

* * *

Natsuka had not seen her twin in far too long, and she did not see his face again until a few days before the finals. She missed him every day, so much so that it physically hurt. She was very good at compartmentalizing her feelings, however, and so most of her worry was shoved deep, deep down. The only people who could sometimes see a hint of her real feelings were her teammates, and even that was rare.

To most, it seemed that Natsuka Hyuuga was doing just fine without her twin brother by her side. They were wrong.

It was midday, and she was making her way through the Hyuuga compound. Usually she'd be at lunch with Shisui and Genma right now, but the two men had left her a note via carrier pigeon that they'd been assigned an unexpected mission. They didn't know when they'd be back. It saddened her to some extent, because even though she'd never explicitly mentioned it, she'd kind of been hoping they'd attend the finals. Even though she wasn't looking forward to her first match, she was still excited to be participating.

It was unusual for Natsuka to be found in the compound during the day. She slept there because it was her home, but she preferred to spend as little time as possible amongst her clansmen.

She was walking down an open hallway, on her way to the kitchen, when she passed the main garden. She nearly kept walking when a peculiar sight caught her eye. She could feel her stomach clench and her heart freeze at the sight before her.

 _Neji_.

She didn't realize she'd muttered the word aloud until two heads turned her way. Two? Belatedly, she noticed a taller figure next to her brother. Hiashi. Tension eased into her bones, replacing the excitement and hope she'd felt a moment before.

The two both wore frowns and appeared to have been in the middle of a conversation when she interrupted. An important one, apparently. But Natsuka couldn't bring herself to care.

She took a step forward, nervously glancing at her clan head. "Neji…"

Neji opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it silently. He looked up at Hiashi, and it was only then that she realized how incredibly nervous her brother looked. It tugged at her heart. Neji was not someone who should ever be nervous. It just wasn't right.

"We will speak later." Hiashi shot her twin a very meaningful glance, but she could only wonder at what it meant. He wordlessly brushed past her and into the house. The fabrics of their shirts just barely touched in the process, and she shivered involuntarily.

With the elephant in the room gone, she hurried to her brother's side. "Neji!" She hovered around him, hands partially raised and unsure. Hugs weren't exactly something they did. "Where… where have you been?" A fissure of sadness creeped into her voice.

"Natsuka…" It seemed that after so long, her brother didn't know what to say either. He finally settled with, "I didn't think you would be here right now."

She blinked. "That's what you have to say to me? I ask you where you've been for an _entire month_ and you're surprised that I'm here?"

She took a moment to really _see_ her brother, and was dismayed at the deep shadows under his eyes, contrasting so much with his pale iris's. The way he carried himself was different, too. His arms hung at his sides, and he slumped ever so slightly. It was so unlike her proud brother.

"Neji, what happened to you?" She didn't realize that her eyes had become glazed with tears threatening to spill over, and she didn't quite hear the trepidation in her own voice.

"I can't tell you that." He shook his head. "It doesn't matter. You should go."

" _Go_?" Her voice rose in volume. "What's wrong with you! This is my home." Was it though? "I just got here and I haven't seen you in weeks and you want me to go?!"

"I just…" Neji's teeth were clenched. "Just go, Natsuka, alright? We can't talk right now."

"Well that's too bad, because that's exactly what we're doing!" She shoved a pointed finger at his chest, and he actually took a step back. From _her_ , his own sister. She took a deep breath. "Kami, Neji. I can't believe all this. What kind of 'supplemental training' have they been putting you through, huh? This is the clan's fault, isn't it? And your forced marriage to Hanabi-"

"And yours to Shino Aburame."

Her tirade was cut short by his interruption.

"…Huh?"

"You will be married to the Aburame heir, or have you forgotten?"

She didn't know why he suddenly wanted to talk about this particular subject, but she didn't like it. "What of it? It's a contract in name only. It'll be years before anything comes of it, and by then we'll probably be able to dissolve the whole thing, anyway."

She hadn't realized up until now how in denial she was about her _arrangement_. Being confronted about it by her own brother was nearly unbearable.

"When are you going to be realistic Natsuka? You're going to marry that boy, sooner rather than later. And the sooner you accept it, the better. You must do this for the clan."

 _For the clan._

It was true that Natsuka still had not given much thought to her future. She knew that she wanted to be stronger to protect the people closest to her. She knew she _needed_ to be stronger to protect her village and bring honor to her clan. These days though, she wasn't sure which came first.

The answer had begun to become obvious to her, but now her brother stood before her telling her to obey the clan.

Her throat was tight. She fought for the words that needed to come out. "You want me to obey Hiashi's wishes, after everything he's done and after he's revealed his true nature? I don't understand." Her voice had become pitifully weak.

Neji looked ridiculously hurt, and she didn't know why because he was the one hurting her. "We were born to obey his wishes. One day you'll understand."

"You really believe we're nothing more than servants?" Against her will, a hand drifted up to touch her headband.

"I didn't say that." An unusual hint of anger entered his voice. His calm façade was cracking. "Do you trust me, Natsuka?"

She blinked up at him owlishly. Another quick turn in conversation. Just what was going through her twin's mind? "Of course."

She might be angry with her brother, but he could shove a sword through her heart and she'd still jump into an inferno if he asked.

"Then listen to me now. Do what they want. _Please_."

Hey brother never said please to anyone.

"I know it seems like he doesn't care about you or what you do right now, but one day he will. Get close to the Aburame while you can. They will serve you better than the Hyuuga ever will."

That was a loaded statement if she ever heard one. He was begging her to obey her own clan, if only so that she could get away from them. Natsuka wasn't stupid. There was more going on here than she could see, but her brother was not going to let her in on the secret.

Her eyes narrowed as frustration filled her. The tears still threatened to overflow, but she held them at bay. "Alright, Neji. If that's what you want. I will do it for you, not for _him_."

She'd never seen her twin look so relieved. But there was still a darkness in his eyes that hadn't been there before. Her heart ached for him and she wanted desperately to tell him everything would be alright. But she didn't know if that was true.

Neji lifted a hand to his sister's cheek and let it rest there. He was looking at her with far more worry than a child should ever possess. But they weren't children anymore, were they?

"I'm scared, aniki."

Neither of the siblings said anything for several moments, until finally Natsuka nodded politely at her brother and turned to walk away. His hand fell limply to his side.

She could not confer with her brother if he would not tell her what was going on, and she could not help him if he didn't want it.

Long after she'd gone, Neji spoke up again. "I am too, imoto."

* * *

The day before the finals, Natsuka walked through the village with a new resolution. Something dark was going on, dark enough to instill fear into her fearless brother. So she would do what she could, and do as he'd asked. That was why she found herself at a stop, facing the looming gate of the Aburame clan's compound.

This clan possessed a compound much like her own. They did not control a district like the Uchiha or the Akimichi, and for that she was grateful. She didn't know if she could handle that many bugs flying around.

Thoughts of what would happen at the finals tomorrow floated lazily through a brain, but she pushed them aside before her nerves could get the better of her.

The Aburame's gates were closed, and it didn't really take her by surprise. There were two guards stationed above, a man and a woman, each with eyes covered as was signature of the bug clan. They didn't exchange any words with her, but it was obvious they could see her. The gates groaned and creaked as they slowly opened. Timidly, she walked into what she supposed would be her future home.

She tried not to gulp when the gates began closing behind her. There was no reason to be afraid.

She took slow, demure steps, looking around hesitantly. Everything around her looked shockingly normal. Homes littered throughout, some small and some large. Few clansmen were walking about, but that was typical of her own compound as well. They tended to keep to themselves.

Natsuka came to a halt when she realized she had no idea where she was going.

A hint of panic starting creeping up on her. What was she even doing? Ambling around another clan's compound like she belonged there. Kami, they'd probably think she was spying. She hastily turned around, ready to leap over the gate if she had to, when a voice stopped her cold.

"Who are you looking for?"

She turned, eyes wide. There, on the open doorstep of one of the larger houses, stood a man. Obviously a bit older by the looks of him, and heavily cloaked just like much of his clansmen. That and his thin, dark glasses obscured most of his face, so she could not read his expression.

Her hands clenched and unclenched at her sides, and she nervously answered the man. "Apologies, Aburame-san. I was just looking for, uh, Shino-san?" It came out of her mouth as more of a question. Her voice also had the annoying tendency to go up a few octaves when she was nervous.

"You'd better come in then."

And that was how, a while later, she found herself sitting down to tea with none other than Shino and Shibi Aburame. The man at the door had identified himself as Shino's father, and invited her in. And now here she was, nervously sipping on chamomile tea. Not as good as Inoichi's, but not terrible.

"I expected you sooner." Shibi's voice spooked her a bit and she nearly dropped her cup mid sip. He didn't sound angry, just nonchalant. He almost sounded as if he was talking about the weather. "I will give you two some time." And then he was gone as quick as he'd come.

She gulped. This was already proving to be quite nerve-wracking. She was alone with Shino and for the first time in her life Natsuka had no idea how to approach the situation.

And Shino didn't seem to want to give her an out either. He just sat across from her silently, waiting patiently for her to speak. He'd probably wait all day, if he had to.

"Ahem." She cleared her throat, and took another sip of tea if only to give herself more time to think. "I've come here today to, ah, to, well. To get to know you. I guess," she finished hastily.

"You guess?" Seeing as those were the first words she ever heard Shino Aburame say, she didn't think this was off to a good start.

"Ah, well, yes. I mean," she huffed out a breath. "Surely you are aware of our situation?" There. Now it was out in the open.

"We are arranged to be married, I am aware."

"Right." She said after a moment. He really wasn't going to make this easy on her. "Well, I guess I just wanted to say I'm sorry that you have to do this. I know we don't know each other, but since we're going through with this I just figured we should get to know each other." A decent, full-fledged sentence. She could do this.

"I was not forced into this arrangement."

"And I-" Wait. "What?" She blinked at him rabidly and had to set her cup of tea down. "What do you mean?" She really didn't understand.

A hint of emotion creeped into Shino's face. It was nearly impossible to tell since it was mostly covered, but you could see it if you just looked at the slant of his brows and the lines around his eyes. "I am marrying you of my own free will." Emotion in his voice now, too. Frustration, and something else. Pity?

She narrowed her eyes. "Then why in the world would you do it? We don't even know each other, Shino-san. You are under no obligations to lend aid to the Hyuuga clan. You don't have to do this." Never mind what it would mean for her if he chose to back out.

"I am not doing it for your clan. I'm doing it for my own. My father suggested that it would be a wise move."

"So your father is forcing-"

"No, Natsuka-san. My father is not forcing me to marry you. He merely advised that it would be a wise move, and I agreed. I am free to do as I wish." He sounded more frustrated now, but strangely enough she didn't feel as if it was directed at her.

She didn't say anything for a long moment. "What an incredible thing," she finally drawled out slowly. "The idea of free will." She was looking at her cup of tea when she said it, and her voice had lowered to become nearly inaudible.

She gave her head a shake and spoke again before Shino could. "What reasons did your father give?" She hastily tried to change the subject. "Why does he think this union would be good for your clan?" If he noticed her ploy, which he probably did, he didn't comment on it.

"He did not give specific reasons, but he was very adamant." Shino had his hands clasped together in his lap now, and his head tilted to the side. He seemed to be lost in his thoughts.

"And you just agreed? Just like that?" Natsuka was struggling to find the logic and reasoning behind this very strange clan. She was usually so adept at finding answers, but she was stumped now. She could not find an answer for why the Aburame clan would enter into a union with the Hyuuga. They were both of the four noble clans; there was no prestige for them to gain. And besides that, it was well known that the Aburame were not much interested in clan politics.

What was going on here?

"I trust my father." Shino's voice interrupted her troubled thoughts.

She looked up from her tea and straight into his covered eyes. "Trust?" Her hands clenched at her sides. She was beginning to feel an inkling of understanding, and let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

"I see." A small smile graced her face. "You must trust your father very much. I trust my twin with my life. That's why… why I'm here today."

The tension in the room seemed to leak out all at once, and suddenly she didn't feel so cold and stiff. It seemed that she and her betrothed had had least one thing in common. They both trusted their loved ones. "I look forward to getting to know you, Shino-san." She reached over to pick up her cup of tea off the table, and took another sip.

"Please, just Shino."

And for the second time, she smiled. "Alright, Shino."

The ground beneath them rumbled and shook, and her tea dropped from her hand. It shattered on the floor as tea spilled all over the ground and her feet. They both stared at it for a moment before a loud _boom_ sounded in the distance and the ground shook again.

They both stood up as alarm filled her. Suddenly, another sound – a whining, high pitched horn. The village's alarm system.

Shibi appeared in the doorway. "The village is under attack. The compound isn't safe. Both of you need to get to the bunkers."

She and Shino looked at his father and then at each other, slow to understand.

" _Go."_

* * *

Inoichi's philosophical advice brought to you today by Rosalynn Carter.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Author's Note: Warning: Time skip ahead (next couple chapters). It'll loosely follow canon but probably be significantly shorter. And I just wanted thank the few people who've reviewed, followed and faved this story so far. I really appreciate it :)

Chapter 10: Rubble

 _I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies._

* * *

The Aburame compound was uncharacteristically abuzz with activity when the two Genin rushed to its gates. Shino's father had disappeared after quickly ushering them out, and she saw several other Jounin taking flight. The gates weren't open, so they simply leaped over the walls like everyone else.

They took to the roofs to see what was going on. Natsuka's eyes widened at what she saw. Smoke littered the air in waves. All over the village, small fires raged. There'd been more explosions than just the ones they'd heard.

"The village is actually under attack." It was one thing to be told, and another entirely to see. "Kami." Her breaths shallowed out as she forced herself to remain calm.

Shino nodded in agreement. "I see remnants of fighting, but there is no one within the vicinity. Where did they all go?"

He was right. With a quick mutter she activated her Byakugan and scanned the area. "No one near us. There's hundreds of signatures ahead though." She grimaced. "It's impossible to tell who's who. Everyone's chakra is anxious, and the civilian are mixing in with the Shinobi. We'd have to get closer."

"You can see the emotion of chakra?"

"No. I mean, yeah. It's easy to tell how someone's feeling if you just look at the pattern or the way it flows." She shrugged her shoulders helplessly. She wasn't very good at explaining her own abilities.

Shino looked as if he wanted to say something, but then shook his head. "We should get moving."

She nodded in agreement. "We were never really going to the bunkers, right?"

"Of course not."

She smirked, amused despite the situation. "I'm already encouraging you to do bad things. What will your father think?"

A noise came out of Shino's throat and she realized it was a quiet laugh. She decided she rather liked the sound.

They were hesitantly moving in the direction of the signatures when a kunai whizzed straight at her. Her head whipped towards it and she saw a signature near them. Too close. She hadn't even noticed. She caught the kunai midair and called out to Shino, "To the right-"

"Nastuka!" All of the sudden a figure rushed her and tackled her. She felt a hand take the kunai from her own and watched as it was flung out into the air. Not a second later, it exploded in a vicious display of fire and smoke.

She was about to slide off the roof she'd been on, but hastily swung her legs around and grabbed onto a roof tile, pushing herself to her feet. "There was an exploding tag," Shino informed her. He'd picked himself up as well and was wiping dust off his coat.

"I saw that." She couldn't believe she'd missed it actually. Her nerves were getting the better of her. Now was not the time to let her emotions overcome her.

She couldn't fail again.

"Whoever threw that thing is gone," she said, eyes narrowed. "Wait. Incoming signatures-"

A blur of orange rushed past her so fast she had to take a step back. She nearly slipped off the roof again. Kami, now was not the time to be a klutz.

She recognized that blur. "Naruto!"

The figure stopped, as did the others surrounding him. It was Team 7, along with Shikamaru and Kiba. "Oh, hey.." he drawled out the word, and she realized he'd forgotten her name.

"It's Natsuka, brat. What are you guys doing?" They were heading away from all the action, towards the village walls.

"We're going to stop Gaara!"

Gaara? She'd never heard the name before. The question must've been evident in her eyes, because Shikamaru spoke up. "He's a kid from the Suna team. Also a jinchuriki. He's gone crazy and Kakashi assigned us to stop him. Oh, and Suna teamed up with Oto to invade." He let out a long sigh at the end. "Troublesome."

 _Oh, lovely._ "A tailed demon? And Kakashi sent a bunch of Genin after him?"

"Hey, kaka-sensei trusts us! We really gotta go though!" Naruto turned around to begin running off, throwing a wave over his shoulder as if saying ' _see ya_.'

"Come with us," Sasuke spoke up. His eyes were red, and she belatedly realized he did in fact have his Sharingan.

But she shook her head. "I have to find my brother and my teammates."

He merely shrugged and began taking off after Naruto. After a quick glance her way, Sakura followed with the other two close behind.

"Kiba was with them." Shino was looking the way they'd gone.

"Go with them," she said, knowing it was the right thing to do. "My teammates are probably near our training ground. I don't…I don't know where my brother is." And she really didn't. He wasn't at the compound, _ever_. That afternoon a few days ago had been an anomaly.

"I will help them, and then come back and find you." Shino seemed regretful at parting ways, but there were simply no other options.

She nodded and gave him a small smile. "Be careful."

"You as well." Slowly, he reached an arm up and let his hand rest on her shoulder. They stood that way for a moment before he let go, and then they both ran off in opposite directions.

She sent up a silent prayer and hoped that everything would turn out alright.

She was on her way to training ground eleven when, mercifully, she ran into her teammates. "TenTen, Lee!" She called out.

They stopped together on the ground, and she came face to face with the Yamanaka flower shop. _Of all the places to stop at_ , she thought. She remembered she hadn't seen Ino with the other group, and she hoped the girl was alright. Wherever she was.

"This is crazy!" TenTen burst out. "We were just about to start afternoon training when the alarms sounded. Gai-sensei told us to get to the bunkers and just ran off!"

"He said he was going to find his rival," Lee piped up. He looked incredibly worried.

"Kakashi sent several of the Rookie 9 on some suicide mission to go fend off a jinchuriki." Lee just about melted into a puddle when he heard that. "I don't know what's going on exactly, but that redhead from the forest is a demon container. Oto invaded us and Suna is helping." Not the best summary she'd ever given, but it would have to do.

"What should we do?" TenTen asked briskly. She looked ready for a right.

"I have to find my brother. You guys should go to the bunkers-"

"Suka-chan." Lee said, and determination had replaced the worry. "You are our teammate. We will help you find your brother!"

TenTen crossed her arms and nodded. "It's like you keep forgetting that we're in this together, Suka. Now let's go find Neji, it's been too long since I've seen him anyway. Bunkers are boring." She was smirking and a hint of excitement shone in her eyes.

Well, she wasn't going to argue with that.

They took off again, towards the center of the village and near the Hokage tower. Booms could still be heard in the distance and occasionally they heard a shout or a scream. They continued moving.

"Here's the problem," she began. "I have no idea where he is."

"Is that why we're heading into the frontlines?" Even without a Byakugan, from the rooftops it was obvious where most of the fighting was taking place.

She cleared her throat. "Yes, Ten-chan. That's why we're heading into that mess. Anyone got any better ideas?" She asked with a look to each of her teammates. When no one said anything she said, "Alright then. Let's go." And slowly, the sound of fighting got louder and oncoming signatures got closer and closer.

They arrived at the perimeter of the fighting to observe the situation. Konoha Jounin and Anbu littered the area, fighting shinobi with Oto and Suna hitai-ate. It was a sight to see, and she tried to ignore the bodies she saw already littering the ground.

An Oto nin approached them, a man wearing a dark gray tunic with a face concealed by a black hood. He had several kunai brandished in both hands, and Team Gai braced themselves for attack. Before the nin made contact though, two new figures interfered.

Their sensei rushed the Oto shinobi before he even knew what'd happened, and they both flew off the roof and into the air, out of view. Kakashi landed beside the three Genin, crouched down. He looked at them, but before he could say a word their sensei appeared before them again. He wiped his hands before placing them on his hips. He gave them all a stern glare.

 _That was fast_. Sometimes it was easy to forget just how powerful Might Gai was. It would be unwise to underestimate him. And right now, he didn't seem very happy. Uh oh.

"I told you to go to the bunkers where you'd be safe! Hi Natsuka-chan." He flashed her a quick smile but smothered it down into a frown. "What are you three doing here?"

Natsuka pointed a finger at Kakashi. "He sent his team off to face a jinchuriki!" Desperate times called for desperate measures.

Kakashi gave her a look with a single narrowed eye as Gai gasped and turned to him. She gulped and resolved to avoid the copy-cat nin after this, lest he decide to get back at her for telling on him.

"Kakashi! That was not very youthful of you." He frowned at his frenemy. Kakashi just shrugged though, and said, "I think I hear an old lady in need of assistance. Bye!" And then he was gone with a poof of smoke. Natsuka rolled her eyes.

"Gai-sensei, what is that?" Lee asked, and the trepidation in his voice made her pause. A short distance away, on a rooftop, was a great black dome. Except... she could see through it, and the blackness _moved_.

"It's chakra," she said aloud, voice full of wonderment. "It's so sinister." Her eyes widened. "The Hokage's inside. And.."

"Orochimaru." Gai said grimly. "He led the Sound village right to us. He's trapped the Hokage inside that barrier."

Around the dark barrier were several Anbu. They were frantically trying to dispel the menacing chakra surrounding their leader, but to no avail. One of them tried a fireball, no doubt an Uchiha. Another used some sort of wind jutsu, but to no effect. Nothing was breaking through.

"Forced to face his own student," Gai muttered with a deep sadness in his voice. "Alright, stay clo-"

An explosion interrupted whatever he was about to say. The next thing Natsuka became aware of was a great ringing in her ears and a throbbing pain in her skull. She was on the ground now, rubble partially covering her. She assumed she'd blacked out for a few seconds.

Shakily, she moved to shove rocks off of her body. _Pieces of a building_. She struggled to her feet and took stock of the damage. Around her, half a street worth of buildings lay partially if not completely destroyed. Luckily, they were in a commercial district. Any civilians in the area had likely evacuated.

"Suka!" It was TenTen. The girl erupted form a pile of rubble like a zombie, brushing herself off and getting to her feet with minimal trouble. "You ok?"

She looked down at herself. She was covered in dirt and dust, and a bit of blood. She'd been scraped up in the blast. She took a step towards her teammate but grimaced. Her left ankle stung and ached when she put pressure on it. "I think my ankles sprained. Or broken. You?"

"Just bruised up." TenTen looked around. "Damn. Where'd they go?"

They looked around for their missing teammate and sensei, but they were nowhere to be found. A quick scan at the ground confirmed that there was no one under the rubble. "Not here." Natsuka clenched her teeth as anxiety filled her. She already didn't know where her twin was, and now she'd lost track of half her team.

She couldn't fail again.

A sharp look up confirmed that they wouldn't be alone for much longer, and her worry was forcibly shoved aside. "Incoming."

TenTen removed a weapons scroll from her pouch. She tried to steady herself with her bad ankle, and reached a hand into her kunai pouch.

"What's this, a couple of brats trying to play with the grown-ups?" More Oto nin. Two men and two women, all sporting similar gray tunics. They flashed to the ground around the two Genin, circling around them in a loose circle.

Their chakra signatures showed medium to large reserves. Jounin level. They were outnumbered and out-skilled.

A poof was heard, and TenTen suddenly had a rather large scythe in her hand. _A scythe_? "What are you, the grim reaper?" She couldn't help asking the sarcastic question.

"It's cool, ok? Wait till this baby slices through someone." The two girls shared rather devilish looking grins, and the Oto nin looked a bit bemused. She gave her teammate a silent meaningful look, and the two burst into action.

She flashed through hand seals. "Eight Trigrams Grid Palm!" It was an expensive jutsu and hastily executed, but necessary given the situation. A grid of chakra erupted outwards from where she was standing, and stretched to envelop the foreign nin. As soon as it touched them they staggered and fell to the ground, crying out in surprise and pain.

The kunoichi duo of Team Gai took that as an opportunity to _move_. TenTen swung her scythe in a wide arc around the two men, who had just barely gotten to their feet. A burst of volatile blue chakra emitted from the weapon as it swung, and the two enemy nin fell right back to the ground with shouts of surprise.

"Water Needle!" Natsuka flung both her arms out towards the two women, and spiky needles of ice erupted from her hands. Their sharp points glistened in the sunlight. They both had to dodge to avoid getting stabbed.

While her needles were mid-flight, TenTen sprang into the air. "Unsealing Technique: Shuriken!" And with a quick twist of her upper body, dozens of sharp shuriken sprang from the twin seals in each of her hands. She landed and causally stretched out an arm to the side, and a moment later caught the scythe she'd thrown mid-air with an effortless flick of her wrist.

The Oto nin could not avoid both the water needles and the shuriken. Sharp gasps could be heard as blood sprayed the air. Both the women were hit. They'd taken two shuriken each, but nowhere vital. Natsuka smirked, however, when she saw several tenketsu points flicker shut on both women. The needles had been thrown with the precision of the Byakugan; they could not miss.

One of the women dropped to her knees as the chakra flow halted below her legs, and her arms hung limp as everything from shoulder to wrist became useless. TenTen was upon her before she hit the ground.

Natsuka jumped to the side of the other woman, who'd landed on the rubble in a heap and rolled several times. A quick scan confirmed she was already dead; a needle had struck her heart.

A _squelch_ was heard, and she looked to her right with a cringe. Her teammate's scythe had swung straight through the midsection of the sound kunoichi, nearly tearing her in two.

Internal organs plopped into the dirt and Natsuka's face turned green. _She wasn't there. She doesn't know that's how she died._

TenTen let out a breath and turned to her. "You good?" She seemed a bit taken aback at the look on her face.

She gulped and nodded. "Fine. Good work."

"You won't get away with that!" They turned to see the two men back on their feet. One of them brought his hands together in a formation of seals Natsuka didn't recognize. "Vacuum Shield Technique: Kuuhaku Toku no Jutsu!"

TenTen let out a startled gasp as waves of air began whizzing around her in a whirlwind. She took a step towards her teammate, unsure of what to do. But before she could even formulate a plan, the air, which she now realized were _soundwaves_ , tightened around TenTen's figure and sped up before disappearing completely. Along with her teammate.

A sharp look at the enemy nin confirmed that the man who'd used the jutsu was gone too. " _Where are they_." It was not a question.

But the sole remaining Oto shinobi merely gave her an eerie smile. "Just giving us some alone time."

She frowned. So that was their plan. Separation. She slowly eased into the position for Gentle Fist. She would close in on the man and end this as quickly as possible. She blinked rapidly to clear her vision. It'd gone a bit blurry. Her reserves were getting rather low.

Her knees crouched as she prepared to take off towards the man. And then she ran, deftly jumping across piles of rubble and leaping over the bodies of the women. She tried not to flinch as her ankle ached. She was slower than usual, but it would have to do.

Strangely enough the man just stood there, smile still on his face. Natsuka got a bad feeling in her gut as the distance between them shortened to a few feet.

Her eyes narrowed. Was he underestimating her? It was no matter; she was nearly within striking distance and would only take one hit to-

"Shriek: Himei no Jutsu!"

 _No hand signs._ A high pitched shriek came out of the man's mouth from beneath his mask and hood. With her eyes, she could actually _see_ the soundwaves as they erupted from him and hit her point blank. She was flung back and away from the man as if she'd been physically thrown. She spun several times in the air before hitting a pile of rubble too hard.

Her ears were ringing. It was like from the explosion that first separated her team, but a thousand times worse. She couldn't hear a thing, and it wasn't _fading_. She wasn't knocked unconscious, and so she hastily tried to get to her feet with shaky limbs. She actually did manage to stand among the rubble, but only for a moment before a wave of vertigo hit her and she was overcome with nausea. She fell onto her hands and knees, wobbling precariously and she emptied her stomach of all its contents. She lifted a shaking hand to the side of her face and stared dully at it as it came away red. There was blood seeping from her ears.

The ringing subsided just enough for her to hear slow footsteps coming her way. She was able to turn her stiff neck to see with a single eye the man coming her way. He was unruffled and seemed unbothered. She saw with her Byakugan that his chakra reserves were near full. Not a moment later, her already blurry vision fluttered dark for a moment, before the lines around her eyes faded and she could see his chakra no more.

She was not out of chakra completely, but she could not maintain it with enough control to keep her eyes activated. She was in too much of an unsteady state.

 _How stupid_ , she thought to herself. How moronic she'd been to try to face a ninja who manipulated sound head on. She'd seen it used in the preliminaries herself; her frontal attack had been incredibly unwise.

Those were the thoughts running through her head as the nin took his time ambling over to her. He took out a kunai from a hidden pouch, and for the first time Natsuka felt a true sense of fear.

She couldn't fail here, not now. She wasn't even a Chunin for Kami's sake; she couldn't die now. She gripped the rocks beneath her, but no matter how hard she tried to couldn't stand up. She only managed to turn over onto her back as another wave of dizziness hit her.

And now she had a wonderful view of her soon to be killer approaching her prone body. _Wonderful_.

He was merely upon her. "I'll only hurt for a moment." He said, smiling. "Well, maybe a bit longer than a moment." His smile turned foul and he lazily tossed his kunai into the air, giving it a twirl before catching it.

She braced herself. Surely there was something she could do, if only she could _move_. She gritted her teeth, gathering the little chakra she had left.

But in the end, she didn't have to save herself.

A blur of black and gray swung into her field of vision from the right and disappeared on the other side with the Oto nin in tow. The man gave a surprised yelp before everything went silent. The ringing had faded some more, but it was still there in the back of her ears, an irritating sound that caused her stomach to churn.

Her eyes had closed, with the threat seemingly gone the adrenaline left her and she was feeling rather tired.

"Hey princess!" A voice chirped.

"Ah!" She actually let out a startled shout at the noise as her eyes popped open. An Anbu agent stood above her. She supposed it was probably the same blur of black and gray she'd seen earlier. "Need some help?" The voice asked, holding out a hand to help her up.

Her eyes narrowed at the familiar voice. "I thought you were away on a mission, _Anbu-san_."

The man before her paused for a moment before letting out a startled chuckle. "I should really start using that jutsu to modulate my voice…" he shook his head and then spoke again. "What are you doing out here, Natsuka-chan? You should be in the bunkers!"

She rolled her eyes and sighed before looking up at Shisui. "Don't worry about it. Can you just help me up?"

He held out a hand again but seemed confused at her pointed look. She rolled her eyes again and gritted her teeth. "I can't exactly move right now."

"Oh!" Shisui chirped, and without a pause knelt down and picked her up, holding her bridal style.

"How embarrassing," she muttered under her breath. She crossed her shaky arms across her chest in annoyance.

He laughed again and flickered onto a rooftop. She shivered involuntarily. Flickering did _not_ feel good when you were experiencing a massive case of vertigo and nausea.

Her looked down at her apologetically and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

"What's she doing here?" A stern voice asked. Another Anbu. She didn't think it was Genma.

"No idea. Think she got pretty torn up though."

"Where are my teammates?" She interrupted them, not caring much about anything else. "We were separated a while back. You can put me down," she added as an afterthought.

Shisui just ignored her and the unknown agent looked at her. "Team Gai is accounted for. The other kunoichi on your team sustained serious injuries and is on route to the hospital."

So the hospital was still standing, that was good. "What about-" but her words were cut off by a loud sound.

Another explosion, dear Kami. She was flung out of Shisui's arms, on purpose or accidentally she didn't know, and hit the side of a building. If she could've rolled her eyes again, she surely would've. Just how many explosions could a person be hit by in a single day?

Mercifully, she blacked out on impact. This time, she didn't wake up.

* * *

"What are your orders, Danzo-sama?"

Deep underground, in a complex only a handful of people knew about, Danzo Shimura rubbed his chin in contemplation. He smiled when the walls around them shook ever so slightly. The explosions reached even this far into the earth.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" The agent asked in confusion. "But Danzo-sama, the village-"

"The village is under attack, I am aware. It is of no matter. The civilians have long been evacuated to the bunkers."

"Should we not lend aid?" Another agent asked.

Danzo finally turned to face the ROOT operatives, who were all kneeling with heads bowed, awaiting orders. "No," he sneered. He turned back around and glanced down at the object in his hand.

The crystal orb he'd stolen from his longtime 'friend' and teammate allowed him to observe the raging battle taking place in the distance. He watched as the snake nin summoned the past Hokages, and smiled again.

"It won't be long now."


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Authors Note: The time skip will take place throughout the next chapter. I think I'm going to include brief moments in time, and it'll end with the intro into the Gaara rescue arc. This is AU, but some canon events will still go down.

Chapter 11: Onward

 _His lips are dripping honey_

 _But he'll sting you like a bee_

* * *

When she awoke, she knew right away that quite some time had passed. It was evident by the grit in her eyes and the emptiness in her stomach. Her eyes stared blankly up at a white ceiling. The hospital. She looked around the empty room. Not a single soul to be seen. A few wires hooked in to her arm, but that was all. She wasn't in any pain.

"I see you're finally awake," a figure came into the room, a woman with short black hair and dark eyes. She was wearing a black kimono and gave a friendly smile when their eyes met.

"Who are you?" Natsuka asked blearily.

The woman shifted slightly and glanced around. She was holding a clipboard. "I'm Shizune. It's a pleasure to meet you Natsuka-san."

"Right." She said slowly. "What happened?" There was no point in wasting time on useless banter.

Shizune's eyes tightened a bit, and she noticed lines around her mouth as she frowned. "You've been in a coma for nearly a month, Natsuka-san."

Hey own eyes widened. An entire month, just gone?

Shizune went on. "You suffered mild chakra exhaustion, but the worst of your injuries were a broken ankle and the concussion to the back of your skull." She gestured to her head. "That's why you were out for so long. Head injuries tend to be tricky."

" _What happened?"_

She wasn't asking about her injuries, and she had a feeling the woman in front of her knew that. Shizune frowned some more and seemed to think something over. "I'll… I'll go get Tsunade-sama."

She walked out before Natsuka could reply, and she was left wondering who in the hell Tsunade- _sama_ was.

She didn't have to wait long, however, because not five minutes later another woman strode rather forcefully into the room. She wore a green overcoat over a gray shirt with a black obi tied around her middle, and pants that ran down to her ankles. Natsuka noticed the woman had rather large… _assets_ during her perusal, and raised a single brow.

The woman brushed one of her blond ponytails over her shoulder and spoke briskly. "Natsuka Hyuuga."

She straightened a bit in her bed. Something in this women's voice told her she meant business.

"I am Tsunade Senju, the Godaime Hokage."

Her mouth dropped open and for a moment she sat in complete silence, stunned. _The Godaime_? Then…

"The third is dead." She stated. "Orochimaru killed him?" She asked timidly.

Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "I see you're not a complete moron. Yes, that bastard killed him using a forbidden jutsu, just like the coward he is." Her fists clenched as she seemed to be overcome with anger for a moment, before her shoulders slumped and she relaxed.

"The funerals were held just over a week ago. I officially took office yesterday. If you have any questions, ask now. I've got work to do."

She frowned upon hearing that she'd missed the Hokage's funeral. But new thoughts popped into her head before she could dwell on it. "My teammates? Where are they?"

"Team Gai, right?" When she nodded hastily, Tsunade went on. "All fine. Gai and that Lee kid were hospitalized for a few days before being released, and that other girl on your team is just down the hall."

Natsuka's eyes widened in alarm. "What happened to TenTen?"

"Nothing terrible, relax kid. Just several broken bones and chakra exhaustion. And some internal bleeding. And she almost lost a limb, but she's fine."

Natsuka's eyes had widened so much that it was comical. _She's fine_ , the woman had said. That didn't sound fine.

Tsunade sighed. "She's just being kept for observation. I promise you she's as good as new. You can go see her right now if you like."

She started to leap out of bed to do just that, but Tsunade – the new Hokage – yelled at her to keep still while she quickly removed the wires and needles she'd been hooked up to.

She was out the door and hurrying down the hall not a moment later. "The room on the far left," Tsunade yelled after her. "And show some manners kid, I'm the damn Hokage!"

Natsuka rolled her eyes and continued moving. What a mess things had become.

* * *

She ended up spending the night in TenTen's hospital room, and they were discharged from the hospital together the next morning.

Seeing the state of the village sent a shockwave through her system. The Hokage tower and its surrounding streets were in total ruins, and the commercial district took a huge hit. Luckily, most the civilian districts made it through with minimal damages. A few of the major clan's sustained damages to their compounds, but nothing that couldn't be repaired over time.

The real damage came from the loss of life. Natsuka didn't know the exact percentage of shinobi they'd lost; she only knew it'd been too many. She remembered catching glimpses of the fallen during the fighting. TenTen quietly informed her that they'd 'only' lost a few hundred civilians.

The orphanage would be full to the brim. If it still stood.

Team Gai reunited that morning, and they spent the day rebuilding an area of the shopping district. She'd been dismayed to learn that the Yamanaka flower shop had not survived the invasion.

The sun shone true, and the daylight warmed their skin. Not a cloud could be seen in the sky. Despite the gloomy times, the sky did not mourn for Konoha today. She absently brushed a long strand of hair behind an ear; lose strands that kept escaping her braid blew softly in the breeze.

"So, Tsunade Senju?" She asked the question to her team, waiting for anyone to answer.

"She is a legendary Sannin, taught by the third himself! I believe she will make an excellent leader." Gai said, ever cheerful as usual. It seemed that not even an invasion could bring him down. He'd long dropped his anger at them for getting involved in the fighting; after they'd been hospitalized he was just happy they all made it out in one piece.

"I heard she hasn't even been inside the village walls in _years_ ," TenTen whispered. Ah, the gossiping train had begun.

"I heard she punched Kakashi Hatake in the face once, and it was great," she supplied in a nasally voice.

While TenTen snorted behind a hand, Lee spoke, completely oblivious to the sarcasm. "Yosh! I too heard that she has not been seen in the Land of Fire since the Third Shinobi World War! What do you think could've made her come back?"

"Not what, Lee, but who," Gai said, teeth now glinting with a smile.

Her eyes narrowed. "Who? What do you mean, who?" TenTen glanced up from the bricks she was piling up, now curious as well.

"After Naruto Uzumaki defeated Gaara of the Sand, he journeyed with Jiraiya to find her. The village elders offered him the mantle, but he insisted Tsunade was the better fit."

"Ah, makes sense. Wait, _what_?" TenTen's eyes were wide and her mouth was gaping.

"Whatever they did, it worked. Tsunade agreed to-"

"Gai-sensei," she interrupted. "I think TenTen understands that part. What was that about 'Gaara of the Sand' though?" Her voice had risen an octave or two, because if that was who she thought it was, she was beyond stunned.

"Ah, yes." Gai smiled fondly. "Naruto calmed the demon within Gaara, and the two have become friends. It seems as though they've found something in common."

"But," she spoke slowly. "Didn't Suna invade us _with_ Oto? Why would Naruto make friends with an enemy?"

Some of Gai's cheer seemed to fade from his eyes. "Orochimaru killed the Kazekage - Gaara's father - and took his place. Suna was deceived into siding with Sound. We were all deceived." Somberness edged its way into his voice, and all of Team Gai took a moment to ponder the situation.

"So where does that leave us?" TenTen's voice invaded the silence.

"Well, I believe we are now tentative allies with Suna; they need an alliance with us far more than we do with them, so it was in their best interest to deplore Oto's move against us."

Natsuka's eyes narrowed in thought. So Oto was now an enemy in addition to Iwa. Just how high would tensions have to rise before someone really went to war? Though, as far as she knew, no sanctions had been taken against Iwa. Was a single child's life not worth the effort?

She didn't pay much attention to the rest of the conversation. In an attempt to change the subject, Gai brought up the schedule for tomorrow. Something about heading over to the Nara compound to make repairs-

Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt.

Compound. Hyuuga compound. Neji. _Neji_. Where was Neji?

She dropped the paintbrush in her hand and it clattered to the ground. Three heads turned her way. "Natsuka?" Someone asked, but she was already running down the street. In her haste and panic, she didn't even think to take to the damaged roofs.

She hadn't been inside the Hyuuga compound since the invasion. She hadn't seen her own brother since _before_ the invasion. Had she forgotten about her own brother? Her heart lurched into her throat as she ran gracelessly through the streets, shoving through a few Chunin in her path. She ignored the grumbled shouts behind her as a dull ringing entered her ears.

 _Where was Neji?_

Thoughts of Hiashi and Hanabi and her other clansmen spun around the back of her mind, but she didn't care enough to focus on them. _Clunk. Clunk. Clunk_. The sound of her sandals hitting the ground sounded as if they were coming from another world.

There. Coming into view, the Hokage tower. A distant part of her realized that it was the same, but not. It seemed that in the month she'd been asleep, the tower had already been rebuilt.

Her feet hit the metal steps and she nearly tripped running up them. She burst into the building, down the hall, trying to find the right room. She spotted a desk placed in front of a door with a familiar dark haired women seated behind it. She looked up from whatever scroll she'd been reading when she heard Natsuka's quick footsteps running her way.

"Natsuka-san?" Shizune said. "The Hokage is busy right now, but you can wait-"

Whatever else she said was cut off as she ran right past her desk and burst through the twin wooden doors of the Hokage's office.

She skidded a few feet before coming to a stop, and gulped in several deep breaths as she hunched over, hands on her knees.

Head still down, she gasped out words without looking up. "Where," _huff, huff_. "Is my brother?"

When she didn't hear an answer to her question, Natsuka lifted her tired head up to see…

Tsunade seated behind a desk, along with the village elders standing behind her. And…

Three unmasked Anbu agents standing in front of the Hokage. She'd nearly run into one's back.

Oh, so she actually was busy. Natsuka gave a little cough and straightened up as gracefully as she could while still huffing quiet breaths. "Tsun- Hokage-sama. My brother, _where is he_?"

She didn't care if she was talking to the Daimyo himself, she needed to know where her twin was, and she needed to know _now_. She didn't feel that fracture in her heart and soul that she would if her twin were no longer alive, but that didn't matter. The village had been invaded, and she didn't know where her most important person was.

"Such insolence," a voice muttered. One of the elders, probably.

Tsunade appeared to have been in mid conversation but blinked a few times before giving Natsuka a strange look. "Kid. I see you're back on your feet. Now who the hell are you going on about?"

"MY BROT-"

"Neji Hyuuga, Hokage-sama." It was one of the agents standing next to her, and she turned towards the voice and belatedly realized that it was none other than Itachi Uchiha. "I believe Natsuka-san is asking about the whereabouts of her brother."

"Your brother huh?" The Hokage stared at her for another moment before shaking her head slowly. "Don't know, kid."

It was Natsuka's turn to blink rapidly. She _didn't know_? Before she could be incarcerated for attempted murder of a village leader, another voice spoke.

"Watch how you speak to your Hokage, girl. Such lack of manners, for a Hyuuga no less. I suppose it would cause no trouble to tell you that your brother is safe and sound, though." The voice was wrought with disgust and Natsuka looked at the man who spoke. It was one of the elders, and he was sneering in contempt. It vaguely reminded her of her own clansmen.

Danzo Shimura. She didn't know much about him besides his name. "Excuse me?" She tried _really_ hard to reign in her panic and anger and make her voice at least somewhat polite. "Safe and sound _where_?" It wasn't working very well.

"That's on a need to know basis." Danzo gave her a cocky little smile, as if saying _'I know, but I'm not going to tell you.'_

Her mouth opened, but she was stopped from speaking by yet another voice. "Hokage-same, if that is all?" It was Itachi again.

Tsunade up until now had just been watching Natsuka's little tirade with a bemused look on her face. She looked at the Anbu in surprise, as if just remembering he was there. "Oh. Yes, yes." She waved a hand in the air with casual ease. "You can go. I'll find you a new member soon. My condolences." Itachi and the other two nodded, and it was only then that she realized the other two agents in the room were Shisui and Genma.

She'd been so overcome with her own panic and internal struggle that she hadn't even taken a moment to observe her surroundings. She cringed as Genma gave her a look out of the corner of his eye and Shisui saluted at her with two fingers before the three of them flickered out of the room.

 _So I guess they came out of that explosion ok_ , she thought blandly.

She cleared her throat with a little cough and spoke again. "Danzo-sama, I beg of you, please tell me where my brother is."

There was a glint in the man's eyes that she didn't like, and he got this smug look on his face at the end of her question.

"Neji's supplementary training is classified, Natsuka-chan. But you have my word that he is alright."

She bristled at his condescending tone and lack of formality. For whatever reason, this man was looking down on her, and she didn't like it one bit. "When can I see him again?" She asked through gritted teeth.

He gave a casual little shrug that she didn't believe for one second. "Whenever I see fit. Don't worry about your brother, Natsuka-chan. He's in good hands. Worry more about yourself." He smiled at her in what she supposed was an attempt to seem good-natured or grandfatherly. But again, she didn't believe it.

"What are you doing to him? He should be with me, his _sister_ , advancing in the ranks like we're supposed to." Her voice had become quite frail as her throat clenched painfully, and she knew if she said much more she would start to cry.

They came to a standstill and the two of them simply stared at one another for several awkward moments. Tsunade's narrowed eyes flickered between the two of them, and she seemed to be thinking through something. "Neji is involved in a program where rank does matter, Natsuka. I can assure you that he is progressing and advancing accordingly." She paused for a brief second and cleared her throat, staring straight at her.

"Come back here tomorrow. I'll be holding a briefing for all the Genin."

She recognized the dismissal for what it was. Something in her gut clenched painfully when she realized she wouldn't be seeing her brother today. She wouldn't even be informed of where she was. She looked at the new Hokage one last time, eyes wide and face full of obvious panic. _Please_ , she begged silently.

But Tsunade didn't listen. She merely gestured towards the door, and slowly Natsuka's feet slid towards the exit, hesitant to leave. Danzo coughed obnoxiously. _Hurry up_ , his eyes seemed to say. She finally left the room before she was forced out, and they all watched her go.

It wasn't until later, when she was nearing the compound, that she processed the Hokage's words.

 _A program where rank doesn't matter._

And though she didn't feel any better, she was glad for the small amount of knowledge she now had. It seemed there was more to Tsunade Senju, than what met the eye. She decided she looked forward to getting to know woman better.

* * *

That night Natsuka's sleep was plagued by dark figures with slashed throats and accusing voices, so she was looking a little worse for wear when she showed up to the Hokage's office the next day. TenTen shot her a worried look out of the corner of her eye but didn't comment.

The Rookie 9 and Team Gai were all in attendance, as well as their sensei's. The Godaime Hokage sat behind her desk, sipping from a suspicious bottle. Behind her stood Nara Shikaku, whom she vague remembered was the Jounin commander, and an unknown Anbu agent in a white robe. That figure in particular caused her hackles to rise. She'd been filled with suspicion of the organization as a whole after what she'd learned yesterday.

"Listen up," Tsunade said, and the quiet chatter halted in a matter of seconds. "You may or may not have already figured it out, but I've called you all here today to discuss the matter of promotions."

The reactions amongst the Genin were mixed. Naruto gave a boisterous shout of excitement at the same time that Lee let out a loud "yosh!" It didn't quite cover up the mutter of "troublesome" from a certain Nara though, nor did Natsuka miss the clenched fists of Sasuke or the small smile of her own teammate. Out of all of them, she decided she agreed with Shikamaru the most, and rolled her eyes.

She noticed Shino a few feet away, standing between his two teammates. They shared a little nod, but the moment was interrupted when she got caught by the stare of the boy standing to his right. Sai, the one who'd taken her cousin's place. He was staring at her with the oddest look in his eyes. She broke eye contact and shuffled behind Lee's shoulder, feeling a bit unnerved.

"Shut up, brats!" She was beginning to like this new Hokage. "In case any of you forgot, the village was invaded before the finals even took place. Technically, none of you should be promoted."

That shut everyone right back up. But before anyone could start crying in despair, she spoke again. "However, as most of probably know, tensions between Konoha and certain other entities are at an all-time high. I am not going to lie to you. There is a very high possibility that we will see war in the near future."

A sense of foreboding entered the room, and Natsuka got the sense that the children of her generation were finally experiencing a genuinely contemplative moment. War meant violence and brutality and death, and it was about to all become very real. Suddenly, promotions didn't seem so important.

"It's for that reason that I'm going to promote some of you today." Tsunade looked uncharacteristically solemn with her brows furrowed and hands clasped in front of her on the desk. "Despite the fact that literally every one of you disobeyed orders by _not_ going to the bunkers like you were supposed to, some of you ended up doing the village some good out on the field."

"Team Gai, step forward." They did so, and she felt a bit frazzled at all the attention suddenly focused on her. "The three of you went directly into the fray, which was such a stupid thing to do that I thought about sending all of you back to the academy."

Lee slapped his hands over his cheeks as his mouth dropped open, and it was quite the comical sight. TenTen couldn't contain her small gasp, but Natsuka just sighed. If she had to deal with academy brats again, she'd become a missing-nin.

"However, you managed to defeat a few enemies on your own, despite nearly killing yourselves in the process. That, and the fact that at least two of you have over a year of field experience, is why I am promoting you as a team."

Shikaku handed each of them the standard gray Chunin vest, and they each gave the Hokage a haphazard bow and stood back.

Smirking, she spoke again. "The rest of the promotions will be as such: Shikamaru Nara, Shino Aburame, and Naruto Uzumaki. You each displayed strategy and cunning out in the field. At least, two of you did." She huffed and looked at Naruto. "And some of you used the wise tactic of words over action, defeating your enemies in the process and avoiding extensive damage. Congratulations to all of you, and good luck to the rest of you in the next exam."

* * *

Later that day, Tsunade decided to have a little chat with a certain village elder.

"Danzo, what have you done with that boy?" They were alone in her office, and she'd seamlessly placed a silencing seal along the walls.

"I'm simply seeing to the boy's full potential, Tsunade-sama." He smiled. "Hiashi asked me to, after all."

She raised an eyebrow at that, immediately suspicious of the Hyuuga head's motives. "And why have you not taken both of the children under your wing?"

"Hiashi did not want that. He did not believe the girl would excel in ROOT." Tsunade read between the lines. In other words, he didn't think she was good enough. She'd spent a good portion of time reviewing each Genin's personal file before deciding who to promote. The Hyuuga twins had undoubtedly been the most interesting. The blacked out lines crossing through much of the boys took her by surprise though.

"Why is the boys file full of classified information?" Tsunade's voice had taken on an edge. It was a tone of voice that demanded answers.

"You know what kind of work we do, Tsunade," Danzo said patiently, still remarkably calm despite the anger in his Hokage's voice.

"Actually, I don't. Just what kind of work _does_ ROOT do? And that's Hokage-sama to you."

Some of the fake cheer faded from Danzo's eyes as his smiled tightened imperceptibly. "My organization cleans and dusts the dirty crevices so you don't have to, _Hokage-sama_. We take out the trash so the streets remain clean."

"I see." But she didn't sound happy with that answer, not at all. "And where is Neji Hyuuga at this very moment?"

"Away on a mission. I can have him report to you as soon as he returns, if you'd like." His teeth seemed sharper than usual as his smile turned dangerous.

Tsunade wasn't one to be easily afraid, however. "You do that." And then she looked away, casually dismissing the man before her and ending the conversation. She was done here.

Danzo couldn't hold back a small sneer, and she didn't miss it. He gave a shallow bow to his Hokage, and left the room.

She took a deep breath and rubbed her aching forehead. Second day on the job and already she had a migraine. The silencing seal faded, and Tsunade shouted towards the office door. "Shizune! Get in here. We've got secrets to discover and lives to destroy."

* * *

"Congratulations on making Chunin, Natsuka-chan!" Her cheerful therapist smiled at her as he watered the mini cactus on his desk.

She covered the red dusting her cheeked with her cup of green tea. She wasn't used to being praised so openly. "Thank you, Inoichi-san. I am sorry that Ino didn't advance. And sorry about your flower shop," she said timidly.

Inoichi merely waved a hand. "Buildings can be fixed, and I am not at all disappointed with the turnout of the exams. I believe my daughter has come far, but I know she has a long way to go."

"While we're on this subject though," he said slowly. "Shibi Aburame mentioned something interesting to me the other day."

She blinked at the turn in conversation, and thought about how remarkable it was that they spent a good portion of each session talking about other people and other things. Inoichi was a rather sneaky man though, and had a way of leading the conversation in such a way that they'd end up talking about something related to her in the end.

"Well, he told me that Shino-kun told him something quite fascinating about you that he noticed during the exam."

And there it was. She rolled her eyes. Did everyone have a hidden agenda?

"And what might that have been?" She drawled out. She set her tea cup on his desk and slouched down in her seat, hands hanging lazily off the armrests. It hadn't taken very long for her to drop formalities in Inoichi's presence.

"He said," Inoichi was smiling now. "That you have the peculiar ability to sense chakra based on emotion."

She frowned in confusion. "All Hyuuga are born sensor nin, Inoichi-san. That's not exactly an amazing feat."

"No, no! Do you even realize how special your ability is, Natsuka-chan?"

He guessed the answer was no when she merely slouched even further in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Memorizing a person's chakra based on feel alone is actually a very rare ability. Sure, all Hyuuga can _see_ chakra, but feeling the emotions of it on the level that you do is quite an amazing thing."

She still wasn't entirely convinced. "I don't exactly _feel_ it, though. I can see how it feels based on what it looks like within a person's chakra network."

Inoichi sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "Natsuka-chan~." The tone of his voice was suspiciously close to being whiney. "Can you stop downplaying your skill, please? Your exceedingly talented, and I think Gai's news for all of you will be very exciting."

At that, she straightened up a bit. _What news?_ "Sensei? Sensei is in on this too? I didn't know grown men could gossip this much."

Inoichi stuck his bottom lip out in a petulant pout. "That's not very fair, Natsuka-chan. We talk to our wives too. It's not just the boys that gossip."

She threw her hands in the air and got up to leave. That was another thing about their sessions, she came and went as she pleased. If she decided a session was over, it was over. The only stipulation was that she come back eventually. She appreciated Inoichi's easygoingness on that matter.

* * *

Later that evening, the Rookie nine plus Team Gai invaded one of the Akimichi restaurants to celebrate the promotions. It was an entirely too social affair that she wished she could miss out on, but Lee had all but dragged her through the door.

"Natsuka-chan! We're both Chunin now, isn't that exciting? I'm gonna be Hokage before any of you know it!" Naruto's thundering voice was the first thing she had the pleasure of hearing as soon as she arrived. Though she couldn't miss the far off look in the boy's eyes. It seemed that even he had been affected by the recent tragedy.

She resisted the urge to sigh tiredly, but just barely. "It is so exciting, Naruto-san," she deadpanned.

He didn't seem to notice her lack of cheer. He merely clapped her roughly on the shoulder, so much so that she stumbled forward a step into someone's back, and went on to converse animatedly with Lee. Something about youth and spandex.

Her nose crinkled as she extricated herself from whoever's back she'd face planted into. It was Shino.

Her mouth popped open in surprise, and though she couldn't really tell, she guessed he was equally taken aback.

"Natsuka-san," he said neutrally.

She stared up at him and smiled slowly. "Just Natsuka is fine."

His head tilted to the side a bit and he gestured to an empty table nearby. "Would you like to sit down, Natsuka?"

A few hours later, she was downing her fifth stick of dango as Shino sipped on what she guessed was water. He didn't seem like much of a drinker. Meanwhile, _someone_ had slipped sake to _someone_ and half the Konoha 12 were nearing black-out drunk. About an hour ago she'd unfortunately discovered that this restaurant had a karaoke machine.

Lee was not a good singer.

"You're going to make yourself sick."

She finished chewing and tried to ignore the horrid sounds coming from the other side of the room. "Don't underestimate my dango eating abilities."

"Duly noted." Shino smirked at her from across the table. "At least you're not on your fifth cup of sake."

She giggled, actually _giggled_ , and glanced at TenTen out of the corner of her eye. The girl was hanging off of the very irritated shoulder of Shikamaru. She looked back down at the empty dango sticks littering the table and her thoughts drifted. "He should be here."

Her voice had become low and sad, and Shino didn't fail to notice. "Everything will work out in the end, Natsuka."

"Do you actually believe that though?"

He nodded. "I really do. All clans are subject to grievous manipulation, and the Hyuuga are no different. Even the darkest of secrets have to see the light someday, though."

"Will you help me? Help me find out what my moronic brother has gotten himself into, and help me get him out of it." Her hands clenched painfully as resolve filled her voice.

Slowly, Shino reached out a hand across the table, and hesitantly placed it over her own clenched fist. And even slower, her clenched fist relaxed and opened. Her hand seemed to fit perfectly in his, and the two teens sat like that for a while, their clasped hands linking them together across the table.

"I will."

Of course, the moment was ruined by the other kunoichi of Team Gai. "Suka~! Come dance with me!"

Her hand was ripped from Shino's as she was forcefully dragged from the table. Lee's horrendous voice could still be heard, and she looked desperately into her betrothed eyes for assistance. _Don't let them take me._

But he just watched her go as his shoulders shook in quiet laughter.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 12: Approach

 _Tell me what you're thinking_

 _Always overthinking_

* * *

Natsuka was alarmed at the tears in her sensei's eyes. "Please calm down immediately Gai-sensei," she said in a stern voice.

But he did no such thing. "I'm just… I'm just so happy Suka-chaaaaan," he furiously rubbed his hands across his face, but it did nothing to stop the waterfall flowing out of his eyes.

She and TenTen shared an identical cringe of disgust. She eyed Lee, and her eyes widened. "Lee! NO-"

But it was too late. "Gai-sensei! I am also so proud of myself and my teammates and the lengths at which we fought together and I am just so filled with youth!-"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

She had no idea that a male's voice could go so high. She fell flat on her back from her upright position and sprawled out in the grass. She sighed, and TenTen soon joined her on the ground. "I hate them," she said.

"Me too," she agreed nonchalantly.

The two girls would never vocally admit that they did not, in fact, hate their teammates, and were actually rather fond of them and their antics.

"I am the proudest a sensei could ever be that the three of you have advanced together." Gai's crying was down to sniffles, and he gave them all a brilliant smile so wide that his eyes crinkled shut.

"That being said, I have some news."

She bristled at this. "You gossiping old men," she pouted.

Their sensei looked ridiculously offended at that. "Suka-chan!" He paused for a moment. "Did Kashi-chan tell on me?"

She blinked widened eyes. She just wasn't sure where to go with that sentence first. "No… I heard that you have news for us from Inoichi-san." This was said with a furtive look to her teammates. They were well aware of her therapy sessions, but she didn't like to talk about it. "And did you just call Kakashi Hatake _Kashi-chan?_ "

"Us sensei's like to show off our students, what can I say? Moving on!" He flung his arms out wide - completely ignoring her - and she was briefly worried that he was going to try to hug them, but he refrained. "I have arranged specialized training for the three of you!"

This was met with wary looks, however. Especially from Natsuka. The last time she'd heard something like that, her brother had been shipped off to Anbu.

"But… shouldn't we train together? We're still going to be a team right?" Lee asked worriedly.

Their sensei held his hands up in a placating gesture. "Of course! It's not uncommon for Chunin to take on specializations, in fact, its encouraged. It'll just be something you all do in addition to training and taking on missions as a team!"

Oh, so it would just be more work. She rolled her eyes. That's what happened when you advanced in rank. At least the pay would be better.

"You can't get rid of me that easily!" Gai went on cheerfully.

"That's what I was afraid of," she muttered under her breath. TenTen chuckled while Lee clapped excitedly.

* * *

Months passed, her fifteenth birthday blew by in a breeze, and Natsuka found herself somehow in a sort of odd, more than bizarre apprenticeship with none other than Shisui Uchiha.

Team Gai took missions together regularly, and were racking up quite an impressive list of completed jobs. They still trained together on a regular basis as well, and even Natsuka would proudly admit the lengths and stretches the three of them had gone.

However, just as their sensei promised, they'd been separated into specialized training. Lee was becoming a taijutsu master under Gai himself, and she truly believed he'd one day be as infamous as their sensei.

TenTen was apprenticed to the _Hokage_ , of all people. She was receiving advanced weapons training and learning how to properly utilize her chakra for medical uses. She was amazed at how much the girl's precision had improved.

And she ended up with a damn Uchiha.

She rolled her eyes and blew a breath to push a loose strand of hair out of her eyes. Sweat rolled down the side of her face, and the metal on the hitai-ate across her forehead glistened in the sunlight.

She calmed her breathing as best she could and glanced around wearily. "Trying to hide from _me_ , are you?"

It didn't take her very long to spot the unique signature. There, high above the ground and snuggled amongst the tree branches. His chakra pattern swirled around his body in what she could only describe as being mischievous. She grumbled under her breath and prepared to take off into the trees. "I can see you, you know," she called out in annoyance.

She had just taken a step when a hand tapped her shoulder. She whirled around and let out an embarrassing squeak at the man standing before her. "Wha-" she whirled back around, only to see that his signature was gone. She spun back around, sputtering. "How!"

He chuckled when she actually stomped her foot. "I got my moniker for a reason, you know."

"I can see behind myself!" She pointed to her eyes and huffed. "I didn't even see you move. So, _how_?"

But Shisui merely gave her a pat on the head and smiled. "You did well, detecting my location right away. I was even suppressing my chakra."

Natsuka rolled her eyes, not caring about his praise. "Of course I did," she grumbled sullenly. When he laughed again, she thought seriously about punching him in the stomach.

As if he could read her mind, he took two large steps back. "Mah, what's with your mood today? You're hurting my feelings."

"As if that's possible Shisui."

"That's Shisui- _sensei_ to you! How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"At least a hundred more. And I'm in a bad mood because _I can't find him_." She was now standing up straight with her hands clenched into fists at her side. She was frowning fiercely.

In a rare moment, Shisui sobered up and dropped his grin as well. It was a bit of a taboo subject amongst the two of them, her brother. While she knew there were things he couldn't tell her, it irked her to no end and she couldn't help but hold it against him sometimes. Even though she knew it wasn't his fault. She settled on glaring at the spot on his sleeve she knew his tattoo would be hidden under.

"He's probably just out on a mission, Natsuka-chan," he said quietly.

"He must be, because I scoured the entire village and he's not _here_." And it was completely true, she really had searched all of Konoha. The constant use of her Byakugan had tired her out and given her a massive headache.

She tried to keep tabs on her brother as best she could. It was just so difficult, though, when it seemed like the entire world was trying to keep them apart.

She spent very little time inside the towering walls of the Hyuuga compound these days. She spent most nights in the Aburame clan head's home. In her own bedroom of course, mind you. Looking back, she deeply appreciated the Aburame's openness and willingness to accept her into their fold. She'd been in a bad place at the time of the invasion, and she only realized it much later. Without them and their kindness, she didn't know where she'd be now.

It still took her by surprise some mornings, to be able to wake up with none of the responsibilities she had before. To go and eat breakfast whenever she felt like it, alone or in the company of Shino and his father. It still unnerved her sometimes, how friendly Shibi was. The quiet Aburame clan head didn't seem to have a single mean bone in his body. She kept waiting for the day when he looked at her like she was used to, with a cold frown and obligations in his eyes.

She kept waiting for the day Hiashi would remember she existed, and wondered what would happen if that day ever came.

There was simply nothing for her in the Hyuuga compound anymore. Her brother still rarely stepped foot inside its walls, and she didn't care about anyone else inside.

Sometimes, she'd be overcome with bitterness at her own clan and wonder where it all went wrong. She'd feel wistful and wish she could go back in time and prevent things from going so wrong. None of this would have happened if she'd done her job and kept the heir alive.

But then where would she be if Hinata lived? A servant to the main family, a mindless object whose only responsibility was to do what Hiashi asked?

She wished with all her soul that it hadn't taken her cousin's death and subsequent aftermath to see the deep cracks in her clan's smooth surface. But she was glad she had.

A hand on her head startled her from her thoughts. "You're thinking too hard again."

She looked up at Shisui and shrugged his hand off her head. "I haven't spoken to him since the invasion Shisui," she said sadly, voice hollow. "I can count on a hand the number of times I've even caught sight of him." Her voice cracked, and she remembered the last sighting of her twin.

A few weeks ago, she'd seen him in the distance, walking through the village streets. With _Hanabi_. Hiashi trailed behind them. She was too stunned at the sight to approach, and didn't think it would be wise anyway, with that _man_ around watching their every move.

She remembered their last conversation.

' _Don't you trust me, Natsuka?'_

She hung her head now and stared at the ground. She did trust her brother. It was everyone else that she worried about.

"Hey," Shisui said, placing a hand under her chin and lifting her head up. "I know what we can do." He paused and gave her a rather evil grin. "Ninjutsu practice!"

She froze and her eyes widened, before she groaned loudly. Subject effectively changed and dark thoughts derailed for the moment, she gave her sensei a bland look. Not that she'd ever call him sensei out loud. "Do we have to?"

"Yep!"

She sighed. When he'd first begun training her, Shisui gave her a piece of paper and they tested her element. She'd never done it before, because ninjutsu wasn't something the Hyuuga relied on and it wasn't taught amongst the clan children.

Needless to say, she'd been astounded to learn her chakra was fire-natured. Shisui had cackled with glee at the sight of the chakra paper crumbling beneath the flames, and she should have seen that as the omen it was. Now every time they practiced fire-natured jutsu she ended up flinging out a tiny fireball before running for her life from whatever Shisui decided to throw at her. She'd gotten singed more than once.

It really wasn't fair trying to use fire jutsu against someone who'd practiced it since birth.

"Escape three fireballs in a row and we can go get lunch! Genma has the day off, and I want tempura!" Shisui's hand began moving so fast that she would've missed it if not for her eyes. She gave a squawk of indignation, unaware that she sounded a bit like a bird, and started running.

* * *

A sake cup was slammed down roughly on the Godaime's desk. Tsunade rubbed a hand over her aching head. "I don't understand Shizune," she groaned.

Shizune was staring helplessly down at the many scrolls piled up in her arms. "I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama, but they can't be unsealed."

"Just what kind of forbidden jutsu was used to seal these, huh? Only Jiraiya could open these damn scrolls, and Kami knows where he and Naruto ran off to. Ugh." Tsunade took another gulp of her drink.

"It's alarming, to say the least," Shizune frowned. She hastily moved the cup farther from the Hokage's reach when she wasn't looking. "I'd have to assume that these seals contain some of the missing information we're looking for. It must be important, otherwise they wouldn't be sealed up so tightly."

"That's what I'm afraid of. I can't do anything if I don't _know_ anything. And we can't trust anyone until we know what's in these scrolls."

"Perhaps we can send out scouting teams for Jiraiya and Naruto-kun?"

Tsunade grumbled and reached for her cup, only to find it missing. She narrowed her eyes at her apprentice but didn't say anything. "Can't. Don't have the resources. While we're on the subject though, has the latest patrol come back with anything useful?"

Shizune sighed. "No, Tsunade-sama. They're going as close to Iwa's borders as possible, but they've come up blank so far. And before you ask, there's been no sighting of your other teammate."

They were both quiet for a moment before Shizune spoke again. "What of the Hyuuga?"

"There's too much missing information. Too many blanks. We can't afford to do anything hasty right now with international relations so tense. The last thing we need is an internal power struggle." The fifth Hokage sighed. "We have to leave them as they are for the time being. Let's hope they don't do anything stupid."

"Oh," Shizune said suddenly, as if just remembering something. "I thought you should see this." She fumbled around the desk before finding the small book she was looking for. She flipped through its pages and handed it over to Tsunade. It was a Bingo Book.

"Akatsuki? I didn't actually believe the rumors."

"Apparently they're true, Tsunade-sama."

The two pictures on the book's page showed the face of a man and a woman. Very little was known about them, and so the page was rather short. They'd become rather infamous in recent months, however, as brilliant and unforgiving mercenaries.

"Pein," Tsunade muttered. "All we know is that one of them goes by Pein." She looked up at her apprentice. "Seriously?"

Shizune just shrugged helplessly.

Tsunade slouched back in her chair, thoroughly ready for a nap. "No one mentioned the huge mess I'd be inheriting. It's not fair," she grumbled. "Can we send out TenTen for more sake?"

Shizune patted the Hokage's shoulder consolingly. "Life's not fair, Tsunade-sama. And no, we can't."

* * *

Later that week, the Konoha 12 – Konoha 10 now - met for their traditional weekly dinner at the Akimichi restaurant. They were almost always all in attendance, besides her twin and a certain Uzumaki. Naruto left the village on some sort of training exercise shortly after the invasion, and even his teammates didn't seem to know when he'd return.

"Are you coming over for shogi tomorrow?" Shikamaru called to her from further down the table.

She shrugged. "I suppose. If your mother makes dango again, definitely."

He sighed and muttered a 'troublesome' under his breath. But she knew she'd see dango on the table tomorrow when she visited.

"Kami Shikamaru! Can't you go a day without playing that stupid game?" Ino called out, halting whatever gossiping she'd been doing with Sakura, who sat beside her.

"It's not stupid, Ino-chan," she said slyly. "It's merely for the phrenic mind."

Ino nodded in understanding, but then sputtered. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

Natsuka looked at the Yamanaka with a face of perfect innocence. "Huh? I can't hear you over the sound of you and Sakura ogling Sasuke-chan."

Now both the blonde and the pinkette sputtered. "That doesn't even make sense!" One of them said. Nevertheless, they were both blushing brilliant shades of red.

"I think he likes tomatoes!" Natsuka said cheerfully. Sasuke, sitting to her right, face palmed and groaned.

"You rile them up too much," a voice to her left spoke quietly. She turned to Shino, who was looking at her in amusement.

"It's just too easy," she said innocently.

He shook his head and laughed in his usual quiet manner. "I didn't know you could be so evil."

She gasped in mock hurt and placed the hand that wasn't holding Shino's underneath the table up to her heart. "Who, me?"

"Yes, you." She then heard a tiny buzz behind her ear and barely resisted the urge to scream. She shivered and shook her head hard enough to get the attention of half the table. "Don't do that! I thought we'd come to an understanding with the bugs."

"Oi," Kiba barked out. He was sitting on the other side of Shino. "Can you two lovebirds get a room?"

Natsuka's cheeks reddened while the table shared a chuckle at their expense. At least they did until Kiba let out a yell that could've shattered glass and fell out of his chair. She looked up at Shino questioningly with raised brows.

"I don't control my bugs," he shrugged. She decided not to point out to him that he did, in fact, control his kikaichu.

She patted her full stomach and stood up to stretch. It was getting late.

Shino stood as well. "We should be getting home."

Of course, this was met with childish catcalls and several whistles. Her eyes narrowed. "If you people don't grow up _this instance_ I'm going to collapse someone's trachea." She held up two pointed fingers in warning. TenTen just giggled.

The laughter quieted, but not by much. "Natsuka-chan! Aren't you going to wish us luck?" Ino called.

She blinked. "Good luck?"

Ino rolled her eyes. "For the Chunin exams, silly. They're coming up."

Natsuka was surprised at this. Had so much time passed already? "They are?"

Ino huffed. "Duh! Do you just hide under rocks all day? We're all going to Suna to compete!" She gestured to the remaining Genin, and she saw Sasuke scowl off into the distance. The little Uchiha was still sore about not getting promoted.

She rolled her suddenly tense shoulders. "Ah, well. Good luck to all of you. Don't do anything stupid, alright?"

This was met with glares and annoyed 'hmphs.' She rolled her eyes and turned to go, but paused and looked back over her shoulder. "Will… will Iwa be there?"

Ino grimaced. "I think so. We're allies with Suna now, but they don't have to follow our alliances. We're not on friendly terms with Iwa right now, but Suna wants to remain neutral with them. That's what I overheard my dad saying anyway." She shrugged.

"Don't spy on your father, Ino-chan," she said with a smile. She couldn't completely hide the worry in her voice though. "Just be careful out there, ok? Seriously." She gave each Genin a hard stare and didn't relent until she received a nod from each of them. "Good."

She didn't sleep much that night. Her mind was plagued with worry for her comrades, and her dreams were plagued with bodies.

* * *

The next week, someone decided it would be a great idea to get together for some friendly sparing matches. It soon escalated though, and what was supposed to be an hour's worth of training turned into a sparring tournament between all the Rookie 9 plus Team Gai. They'd started early this morning, and it was nearing evening.

She was leaning against the railing overlooking the particular training ground they'd chosen. "Well this is fun."

"I certainly think so," Genma chimed in from his perch on the railing a few feet away.

"I didn't know my cute students could be so vicious." Kakashi exclaimed, but he was smiling with glee.

"It's good to see how far they've all come," Iruka said wistfully.

"I must agree." It was Itachi, standing stoically next to Natsuka and staring down at his younger brother, who was sparing with Shikamaru.

Natsuka sighed. Somehow word had spread about their little escapade, and it seemed that half the village had decided to stop by and watch. She could see Shisui a distance away from her, but she chose not to acknowledge him because he was in uniform. He wasn't the only Anbu sprawling around, and it unnerved her a bit. It would be improper for her to blatantly activate her kekkei genkai to see if she recognized any of the signatures, and so she was left wondering.

"Don't any of you have jobs to be doing?" She muttered sullenly.

"I let them off the hook," a new voice spoke, a bit snidely at that.

There were a few gasps and she even saw a few people bow. Oh Kami. She rolled her eyes and acknowledged her village leader without turning around. "Hello, Tsunade-sama."

Said woman clapped her roughly on the back, and she let out a little cough. "What's up brat!"

Natsuka's eye twitched. She could smell the sake on Tsunade's breath. "Just some friendly sparring."

"Wonderful. I decided to stop by to see my student's progress."

"She's next. She's sparing Sakura. You can watch, I guess. Since you have nothing better to do, apparently."

Tsunade laughed loudly and sauntered up the railing next to Natsuka. "Who's winning?" Her eyes became serious as she observed the match below them.

"I'd say Sasu-chan is," she purposefully rose her voice when she said this, and was rewarded with Sasuke's glare aimed straight at her. She giggled.

Itachi shook his head in amusement. "He is too easily riled."

"They all are!" She said, happy that someone else finally took notice of how bratty all the Rookie 9 really were.

"I'm pretty sure you should include yourself in that statement," Genma said, smirking through the senbon hanging out of his mouth.

"That's not true!" Nevermind that her voice had become rather sulky and she did sound rather childish.

She realized she wasn't going to win this argument and decided to extricate herself from the situation. She sighed under her breath and flickered away from the crowd, deciding to take a small walk around the block.

Her nose crinkled when she sensed a familiar chakra signature. It was Sai. She didn't really know the boy at all, but she spent enough time around him and his teammates to know his signature by heart. She only now just realized that he must've left the training ground at some point.

He was just around the corner, down an alley. She briefly considered activating her Byakugan but decided against it. She'd just approach the boy and ask him what he was doing.

But when she turned the corner, she was shocked to see not one, but two people standing side by side.

Sai, and Neji.

She blinked rapidly and wondered if she was in a genjutsu. But no, now that she could physically see her brother standing there, a hint of chakra became evident as well.

She hadn't sensed a thing just a moment ago. She was becoming a rather good sensor, at least she thought she was, but this level of chakra suppression was something she'd yet to witness.

"Neji," she said in surprise. Both boy's heads whipped towards the sound of her voice.

What struck her the deepest was the uniform her twin now adorned. Anbu. And there on his shoulder was the signature tattoo. He now had two marks cursing his body.

"Natsuka," Sai said tonelessly. "I was just having a chat with Neji."

"I can see that." She nervously took a few steps forward. "What's going on?"

"I just told you," Sai's voice held a hint of annoyance.

Some of her attitude came out to play at the sound of that annoyance. "Why don't you tell me what's really going on?" She demanded. "I wasn't aware you two knew each other," her voice oozed casual ease. She took another several steps forward until she was directly in front of them.

Her brother had no reason to talk about anything with a simple Genin. It seemed there was another player she'd be adding to the game. "Run along, Sai."

The boy blinked but said nothing. He turned to Neji, but her twin was too busy gaping at her to notice.

" _Now_ , Sai. I'd like to talk to my brother in private." Whatever he saw on her face made him decide not to put up a fight. With another glance at her brother, Sai slowly took a step back before flickering out of site.

She relaxed, but only minutely. "Oh, Neji." She sighed.

Finally, her brother seemed to find words. "Suka, you know I can't tell you anything." His voice was almost desperate.

"You've gotten so good at chakra suppression. They must be teaching you well in Anbu."

His eyes widened and he seemed incredibly confused for a moment, before he shook his head. "I'm not-"

"Why are you avoiding me?" The question escaped her lips before she could hold it back.

"I'm not," but he spoke too quickly.

"You are."

"I'm not!"

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm- never mind! We just can't be around each other right now, imoto."

She sniffed at the name. "But why?" Her voice was full of hurt and frustration.

"I can't, Natsuka, _I just can't_." Neji seemed to almost be in physical pain, and she took a step closer out of worry. She held up a hand, as if could comfort him. He hastily took several steps back though, and a mask slid over his face.

"I have to go."

And before she could utter another word, he was gone.

Unbeknownst to her, a cloaked figure peered down from the rooftop above.

* * *

"That thing is dead." Natsuka slouched in her chair, eyes droopy and oozing laziness as was usual.

Inoichi frowned and looked visibly upset. "Don't say that! My wife will kill me." He was furiously spritzing water on the obviously dead miniature cactus on his desk with a spray bottle.

"How do you manage to let a cactus die?" She asked with curiosity. "You're very talented, Inoichi-san."

"Hey! I don't need your sass right now. Can't you see I'm stressed?" The poor man _did_ actually look rather stressed out, but something told her it had nothing to do with her plant.

"You're worried about Ino-chan, aren't you?"

He stopped his manic spraying and looked up at her. "I thought I was the therapist here."

"That's debatable."

He opened his mouth, no doubt to lecture her on her attitude yet again, but she beat him to it. "I'm worried too."

He paused. "You are?"

She nodded. "Of course. All my friends are going off to another country to compete against the people that killed my cousin. How do you think I should feel?"

He reluctantly sat the bottle down and sat back in his chair. "I have to say that I'm worried about that too. But I'm also worried because this is the farthest away she'll ever have travelled, and she'll be gone for so long."

"It'll be two months at most."

"That's forever." He slunk down a bit and sighed deeply. "Natsuka."

She, on the other hand, straightened a bit. That tone of voice in her therapist never boded well. "Yes?"

"There's something I should tell you. I might get into a bit of trouble for this, but as your therapist and your friend I think you deserve to know."

She was a bit touched that he considered them friends. She'd never looked much beyond their patient-doctor relationship. His words brought her no comfort, however, and a cold sweat slid down her spine.

"We don't think Iwa was responsible for your cousin's death."

She immediately opened her mouth to respond that _yes Iwa was responsible for her cousin's death because she'd seen it with her own eyes_ , but he held up a hand to make her pause.

"They were shinobi from Iwa, no doubt, but we have reason to believe they're allegiances lie elsewhere."

Anger began to tighten her features as the temperature in the room seemed to drop. She was still incapable of controlling herself when this subject was brought up. "So who exactly do their allegiances belong to, hmm?"

"We don't know. I can see that you don't believe me Natsuka-chan, but at least listen to my words. Iwa never claimed responsibility for the ambush. In fact, they vehemently denied any involvement." He paused for a moment as his eyes got cloudy and he seemed to be lost in his own mind. "I've fought two wars against Iwa. I know what they're like. If they were in possession of the Byakugan, they'd want us to know. We cannot rush blindly into a war without all the facts."

At some point Natsuka's head had fallen forward and she stared holes into her lap. "Hiashi would believe differently."

"And since when do you care what your uncle thinks?" He asked sharply.

She blinked and realized he was right. "Don't… don't call him that."

"Your clan still has its holds on you."

"That's not true!"

He held his hands up in a placating gesture. "I didn't say that to place blame on you. I'm just making a point. It's very hard to let go of a life's worth of rules and regulations. I know it isn't easy to change your ways."

* * *

The next month, the remaining Genin of the Rookie 9 took off for Suna. She sent up a silent prayer of safety and good luck for them, and life in Konoha continued on while they were gone.

Team Gai got sent on more and more missions outside the village, doing menial messenger and transport work. They did not venture farther than Wind country. The shinobi activity throughout the village increased altogether, and Natsuka had a feeling she knew why.

The Hokage was preparing the village for war.

War required money and weapon and supplies, something the Village Hidden in the Leaf had been sorely lacking in since the Konoha Crush.

While the Genin and Chunin were sent on safer missions, the elite shinobi of Konoha found themselves facing missions such as high risk assassinations and bounty searches in faraway lands.

She briefly allowed her mind to wonder on the location of their sensei. Gai more often than not was unable to accompany them on missions these days. He'd been gone from the village since shortly before the Suna Chunin exams began.

She hoped he was safe.

The question she still had no answer to though, was who?

Who would Konoha go to war with? She assumed it could only be Otogakure, if Iwa was truly not behind the attack on her cousin. This troubled her, because she didn't understand why the Hokage was so worried. As far as she knew, the actual Village Hidden in the Sound had yet to be seen by a single Konoha soul, and the Sannin in charge of it had vanished after the invasion.

What did Tsunade know that had her so alarmed?

She didn't know if she'd ever find out, but she decided not to take the time away from the village for granted. It was a bit of a blessing in disguise, because it meant fewer training sessions with a certain annoying Uchiha. A wall was beginning to form between the two, because all she could see whenever she looked at him was her brother's face.

She didn't trust Anbu as an organization, and that jadedness was beginning to carry over into her personal relationships. It was becoming difficult to separate the abrasively kind Genma and her bratty sensei from the group they owed their allegiances too. It didn't help that they refused to tell her anything.

She didn't like when she didn't know something. And right now, she knew nothing.

* * *

Author's note: There's quite a few things poor Natsuka doesn't know about. For one, she doesn't actually know ROOT exists at this point.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Author's Note: Welcome to the Gaara retrieval arc. I know I said it would somewhat follow canon, but really, how can it follow canon when this is a non-mass story? Oh well. Also, updates will be less frequent due to school. I will aim for every two weeks at the very most. Thanks for your patience.

Chapter 13: Conflicts of Interest

 _Life is too short to last long_

* * *

"We're here," TenTen said with a sigh. The looming village gates were a short distance in front of them.

Natsuka let out a sigh of relief. Now she wouldn't have to put with any more of Lee's insistence on racing back to the village.

Team Gai, minus the actual Gai, had been away from Konoha for several months now. For the first time since making Chunin, they'd been sent on a mission farther than Wind Country. They'd travelled to the distant and rather tiny Land of Ice. It had been bitter cold every second of every day and it seemed impossible to get warm no matter how many layers you put on. She'd decided she hated it.

Nevertheless, the mission had been labelled a success. They'd been sent with correspondences to negotiate a trade deal with the small – but very wealthy – country. The idea of a friendly relationship with one of the largest Shinobi nation's in existence proved to be a good bargaining chip.

Natsuka was just happy to be back. The Chunin exams would have passed by while they were gone, and she was eager to see which of her friends had advanced. She knew TenTen would also be eager to continue her apprenticeship.

"Yosh! It is good to be back," Lee said with a smile. He'd shed his thick coat some time ago and now seemed to be wearing it as a cape.

"I must agree." Some of the tension eased from her shoulders as the familiar gates took shape in front of them.

They were greeted by the gate guards, and she silently noted that there were four guards, as opposed to the usual two. She filed that observation away to dwell on another time. They made their way towards the Hokage's office to give their mission reports.

It was a pleasant feeling, to be able to walk through the village streets peacefully, passing by shops and restaurants and civilians with their bubbly children.

She briefly wondered where her fiancé was, and if he was even currently within the village walls. She'd have to stop by the compound after the mission briefing.

One of the downsides of being out of the village so often for roughly the past year was that she'd had little time to focus on important matters. Important matters being none other than her brother.

It didn't help that there was little she could do to begin with. She desperately wanted her brother out of Anbu and away from the reaches of her clan, but she didn't know how. She had no sway amongst her own clan, so there was nothing she could do on that end. And the only ties she had to Anbu were-

"Look who it is." A large hand landed on her right shoulder, and not a moment later another landed on her left.

Hey eyes narrowed. _Wonderful_. Just the people she wanted to see. "Go away."

"Is that the way to treat your sensei when we haven't seen each other in _forever_?" Shisui asked with a pout.

"You're not my sensei."

"Then how do you explain those cute little fireballs you can use now?" Genma asked from her other side.

She let out a huff. "Unimportant. Ninjutsu is a frivolous aspect of my arsenal."

The two men shared a look over the top of her head. "You've definitely been gone too long," Genma said. "You sound way too much like a Hyuuga."

Before she could point out that she was, in fact, a Hyuuga, her teammate spoke. She'd nearly forgotten they were there. "We'll meet you at the tower," TenTen said while dragging a rather pained looking Lee along by the ear.

"Great. Now we have time to grab some food. It's been too long," Genma said. Both hands on her shoulder tightened a bit, and Shisui's suspiciously innocent smile told her this was not a lunch date she would be able to evade.

And that was why instead of giving a mission report like she was supposed to be doing, Natsuka found herself sitting on the bench of one of her favorite dango stands. Hunched over on either side of her were Genma and Shisui, the former chewing away and the latter sitting quietly with a senbon hanging out of his mouth.

"I don't have time for this," she said in between angry chewing. "I'm sposed ta be gibbing my mission report."

"You're supposed to be training for a ropes training course?"

She audibly swallowed and let out an annoyed huff. "My mission report, Genma."

Shisui waved a hand through the air, nearly hitting her face in the process. "There'll be time for that later! We wanted to sit and a have a chat."

This didn't bode well. If they were going to bring up the fact that she was avoiding them because of their unfortunate work conflict, someone was going to get set on fire. Her eyes had narrowed and she'd become impossibly stiff, and though she didn't know it, neither agents missed the obvious signs of her anxiety.

"About?" She asked shortly.

"Well…" Shisui spoke slowly, placing a finger on his lip in contemplation. Natsuka thought he looked a bit like a little boy who'd been caught doing something bad. She braced herself for the coming questions and began to stand when he finally finished his thought. "About your relationship, of course!"

She was so surprised by the words that she fell right back onto her seat. "What."

"Your relationship, kid." Genma said with a smirk. "How's that going?"

"Yeah, how is it going Suka-chan? Are you two married yet? If not, when are you tying the knot? Do you hold hands? Do you kiss?" Shisui suddenly gasped. "Do you have-"

" _Shisui!"_ She hissed out the Uchiha's name. "First of all, what have I said about calling me kid? I'm sixteen, asshole. And my relationship with Shino is no one's business!"

"No one's besides half the village, you mean? You know people can see you when you walk into the Aburame compound and don't come out for days at a time, right?"

Natsuka glared first at Genma, then at Shisui, then at the wall of the dango stand. "So it's true."

"Huh?" Shisui asked in confusion. "What is?"

"You're both children."

Shisui threw his head back and laughed while Genma bopped her on the head. "Nice job avoiding the subject, kid."

She sighed. This was definitely not a topic of conversation she was prepared for. Suddenly very tired and just annoyed in general, words spewed out of her before she could stop them. "We're not married yet. Shibi-sama advised that we wait until we're both Jounin rank. Our relationship is the best it could be; I trust Shino with my life. And we do hold hands, and we do kiss, and you know what? We do a lot more than that too."

She was breathing a bit heavily by the time she finished speaking and didn't realize she'd nearly been yelling. Her face warmed as she furtively glanced around for onlookers. Luckily no one seemed to have overheard her.

Genma and Shisui however, looked positively stunned. It was a rare occurrence for her to easily give in to their demands and speak so much at once, let alone say such… scandalous things. Shisui's mouth was actually gaping open.

" _What?"_ She asked defensively.

"That's… that's more than I wanted to know," Genma's voice had a note of disgust in it and he'd gone a bit green.

That offended her just a little. She crossed her arms and let out a low growl. "Then why did you ask?!"

"I was just inquiring about the state of your relationship kid, I didn't need to know any juicy details. You're like twelve. That's gross."

A muscle in her eye twitched as she stared him down. Her face was still red, but more so now from anger. _"You asked!_ And I _just_ told you how old I was. Asshole."

"I mean, technically Shisui asked."

She turned to Shisui, who'd been silent up until now. His face was a bit paler than usual and his eyes were wide. She reached a hand up to gently close his mouth, and at her touch he seemed to get a hold of himself. His jaw snapped shut with an audible click and his eyes went from being comically wide to impossibly narrowed in the span of a second.

"I have to go," he finally spoke after a long moment.

She was just about to pick up her last dango stick and paused mid grab. "Huh?" She was utterly confused at the lightning quick twists and turns in this conversation.

But Shisui was already walking away. After snaking his way through a large group of civilians, he turned a corner and was out of view. She turned to his counterpart with raised brows.

Genma held his hands up defensively. "Don't ask me. I know nothing."

Her eyes narrowed in annoyance, because she knew for a fact that Genma knew _lots_ of things.

But before she could properly interrogate him, two Anbu flickered into view before them. A rabbit and a fish. No one she knew.

"The Hokage is requesting your presence," one, a man's voice, spoke in monotone.

"No doubt raging about my lack of a mission report." She sighed and gave her dango a remorseful look. "I'll be there shortly."

The two agents nodded before flickering away as fast as they'd come. She turned to Genma, who seemed more than a bit grateful at her sudden need to leave. "This isn't over," she told him sharply. "I'll see both of you later."

He rolled his eyes. "Now you want to spend time with us."

She huffed but didn't dignify that with a response. She gave him a silent wave before disappearing in a swirl of leaves, and hurried to the Hokage tower.

* * *

Upon entering the esteemed Hokage's office, Natsuka nearly took an empty sake bottle to the face. Luckily, she was far too graceful for that, and it shattered against the wall when she ducked. She was about to say _what the hell_ when the sheer amount of people already in the office caused her to shut her mouth.

It seemed that anytime she showed up here, the rest of the Konoha 11 tagged along. Luckily, not all of them were currently present, only Team 7. She barely managed to keep from jumping when she saw the one and only Naruto Uzumaki standing over Tsunade's desk, legs spread and hands braced on the desk.

She hadn't seen the kid in over a year, but he didn't look much like a kid anymore. In fact, she could tell from afar that the brat was now _taller_ than her. He wasn't the only one – Natsuka had noted in anguish that nearly all of her generation's fellow shinobi kept shooting up in height as time passed, and some (Chouji) in width. It annoyed her to no end, because she hadn't gained a single inch.

Come to think of it, the only person she knew who wasn't taller than her was Ino, and that was only because they were the same exact height.

"Natsuka!" A sharp voice commanded her attention. She shook her muddled head and cleared her thoughts before she let out an undignified 'huh?'

"You summoned me, Hokaga-sama?" Natsuka glanced around the semi-crowded room. "My mission report, I presume?"

Tsunade all but growled and rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about that. I'm assigning you on a mission, along with the rest of your team and Team 7. A-rank."

Before she could properly process that ridiculous declaration, Naruto interrupted. "We have to go _now_ , baa-chan!"

While the boy had certainly filled out in places and formed sharp angles in others, his mental maturity obviously did not compare to his physically appearance. He still had no filter. She waited for Tsunade to throw him out of the office window, as was customary of anyone who spoke out of turn, but strangely enough it didn't happen. She let out a small sigh of disappointment.

"I'm aware, Naruto. Listen to the briefing, _follow my orders_ , and we'll get you all on your way."

And that was how Natsuka found herself on another mission on the same day she'd returned from one. She refrained from complaining too much, lest she sound like a Nara, but she was really rather tired. She glanced ahead, where Gai and Lee could be seen leaping across tree branches faster than the speed of light, and sighed. At least some people were excited.

She herself was rather annoyed that she wouldn't get to see Shino until they returned. They'd literally been sent packing immediately after the briefing, and she'd had no time to rest or visit with her fiancé.

There would be no stopping to rest anytime soon though. Not with the severity of this mission. She recalled the Godaime's words just a few hours earlier…

" _As most of you are aware, Konoha faces many threats at this point in time." The Hokage took a deep, tired breath. "I've gathered you all here to inform you about a group known at the Akatsuki."_

 _Natsuka raised a brow at that. The Red Dawn? She'd never heard such a term before._

" _They are a group of mercenaries that have recently grown exponentially in members and activity. Due to recent events, their motives have become clear. The Akatsuki are hunting down the tailed beasts. We don't know why, but at this point in time we know it is their ultimate goal."_

 _The group was silent for a moment, all eight of them. Kakashi and Gai-sensei didn't seem very affected, and she guessed this wasn't new information to them. She herself was feeling a bit lost. She didn't yet understand how this information pertained to anything related to Konoha. For several seconds the only sound that could be heard was the scratching of Naruto's teeth as he grinded them between his clenched jaw._

 _Whatever this was about, it had the blond boy upset._

" _Gaara Subaku, the fifth Kazekage of Suna, has been abducted by the Akatsuki. Your mission is to extract him, dead or alive-"_

" _Alive!" Naruto seethed._

" _-and stop the extraction of the one-tail at all costs." She looked around the room. "Don't be mistaken. We are aiding Suna because they are our allies and it is our duty to do so. But the tailed demons cannot simply be taken and kept. There is no reason that is not nefarious for doing such a thing. They must be stopped."_

" _Hokage-sama, I must ask, why are we being sent on this mission?" TenTen asked cautiously._

 _She was wondering that herself. Why send a few Chunin and possibly Genin to fight mercenaries? She glanced at Team 7 and made a note to ask them later if they'd been promoted in the recent exam._

 _Tsunade scoffed. "Don't worry, I'm not. Consider yourselves the backup. An Anbu squadron is already on route." She exhaled loudly again and ribbed the bridge of her nose. "I'm sending Naruto and his team because the brat will defect from the village if I don't." This was said with a pointed look towards Naruto. "And I'm sending you because the Kazekage's brother is in urgent need of medical care. He's been poisoned."_

 _TenTen frowned and clenched her hands into fists. Nothing got her going like the prospect of a mission. Natsuka, on the other hand, could already tell this was going to be a big headache._

" _Team Gai and Team 7 will both report to Suna, administer proper medical care where needed and aid in cleanup. Do not engage with enemy nin. Anbu will handle it."_

 _And with a wave of the Hokage's hand, they were dismissed._

* * *

The Konoha nin were currently flying through Fire Country. In a matter of hours, the tree trunks would shrink and the leaves would disappear as sand took its place. It brought to the forefront of Natsuka's mind memories she did not want to remember.

 _We'd just reached Wind Country when they attacked,_ she remembered the ambush of that fateful day.

She let out a cool breath and focused on the task at hand. She brushed a wayward dark strand of hair behind her ear and absently reached up to adjust her hitai-ate. Her gray shirt billowed in the wind, its sleeves nearly enveloping her slim hands.

Next to her, TenTen wore a determined face. Up ahead, Gai and Lee were becoming rather small points on the horizon. And behind them but keeping pace was Team 7.

No one spoke. The group had been moving in silence for several hours now. It was as if the morose mood of the blonde member of Team 7 spread to all of them. They were on their way to a mass of destruction and a possible death of a village leader. It was all too familiar; they'd seen it before.

However, there was something on Natsuka's mind that she couldn't let go of.

"I just can't believe that boy became a kage," she muttered under her breath, still staring straight ahead and deftly leaping from branch to branch.

Of course she was heard anyway. "I know right!" TenTen exclaimed. "Last we heard of that guy, he was rampaging through the village. What the hell happened?" She looked flabbergasted.

Natsuka was equally confused. "No idea. I recall Gai-sensei saying something about Naruto convincing him to stop his attack, but I really don't see how that can correlate with becoming the leader of an entire village." Her nose was scrunched up in bafflement.

"We're the same."

A somber, quiet voice joined the two girl's conversation. Both surprised, they turned their heads to see Naruto trailing a mere few feet behind them. He'd come up behind the girls without either of them even hearing.

A bit bemused at the melancholy tone of the normally happy boy's voice and irritated at herself for not hearing his approach, she frowned.

"What?" She asked, voice not entirely friendly.

"We're the same," Naruto said again, and she was taken aback by how tired he sounded. "I showed Gaara that people love him and care for him, and he doesn't have to be alone. I made him realize that what's inside him doesn't make him who he is."

"So you're saying he's _not_ the evil monster we all saw destroying our village?" TenTen asked with a raised brow. The girl had a knack for being frank and direct whenever possible.

Naruto grimaced, but went on. "That's not who he is. Gaara is _Gaara_ , and Shukaku is Shukaku. They are not the same."

"And how do you know that? How do you know the beast hasn't taken over whatever humanity he may have once held?" She asked, suddenly feeling very heavy-hearted.

"Because he's like me."

Natsuka stepped a bit too hard on a frail branch and it snapped off its tree, falling onto the forest floor below. She corrected herself with only a tiny wobble. "What?"

"I'm a jinchuriki."

This time it was TenTen who nearly fell off a branch, except she wasn't so lucky and stumbled onto the lower branches. They did not cease their quick pace, but suddenly time seemed to slow for a moment, and Natsuka was sure she could hear birds chirping and leaves tapping the ground over the whistling of the wind in her ears.

She waited for her teammate to look up at her, to give her some type of confirmation that what she'd just heard was in fact what Naruto actually said, but she just kept staring stoically ahead. From her higher perch, she couldn't quiet see the expression on TenTen's face.

After a few moments, when it seemed apparent that no one was going to say anything, Natsuka sighed and took the reins. "What exactly do you mean, Naruto?" She asked carefully.

"I mean exactly what I say. I'm a jinchuriki. The Kyuubi's host." He was also staring straight ahead and didn't seem capable of looking Natsuka's way.

 _The nine-tails_. Kami. Natsuka was having no small amount of trouble processing that statement and everything it meant. She glanced down at TenTen again. She was well within hearing distance, but still didn't look their way.

She didn't recall much about the night of Kyuubi attack on the village. She'd been hardly a toddler, and the only reason she remembered it at all was because of the excruciating pain the event had caused. The feeling of such a massive amount of malevolent chakra, hell-bent on nothing but destruction and devastation, had been the most painful thing Natsuka had ever experienced in her short life. It was as if the beast had ripped through her very soul.

It has been the most painful thing she'd experienced, until a few short months later. Then an event that she still remembered clearly to this day shook her world. While it felt as if the Kyuubi tore her soul in half, bearing the Hyuuga curse mark _did_ tear her soul into pieces.

She tried to think back to everything she knew about that night, and made a few simple deductions that now seemed incredibly obvious.

"The demon was sealed within you." She looked Naruto over, saw his tan skin and bright eyes, his blond spiky hair and the whiskers on his face. "The Fourth was your father."

Naruto finally deigned to look her way, and she was taken aback by the anguish in his eyes.

She recalled all the afternoons she'd spent picking up Hinata from the academy, so long ago. She remembered seeing the boy sometimes, when he'd been younger and smaller. She remembered seeing parents sneer at him as they tugged their children away, and she remembered the whispers 'fox' and 'demon' that were always flying around.

She remembered the defeated look she'd sometimes see on his face.

Now, all the aggression she'd seen the village show Naruto made perfect sense.

 _He's just a boy_ , a voice whispered through her mind. He's just a boy, and he's never been given a choice in the way people treated him, or in the fate he was handed. Just like her.

While these chaotic thoughts ran in circles through her mind, she stared with wide-open eyes at the boy running alongside her. Her stared back, and she was saddened by the fear she saw in his eyes. How many people did not accept him for something he could not change?

"How many people know?" She asked quietly.

He swallowed audible before answering. "The Rookie 9. I told them as soon as I got back and heard about Gaara. I'm sure Kakashi-sensei knows, and all the other Jounin. And pervy-sage," he let out a low chuckle, but it sounded rather weak and vulnerable. "That's why I've been gone, you know? The Akatsuki are after me, and I had to train to get better. To protect myself and everyone I care about."

He was gripping his knuckles so tightly that they turned white, and his eyes were suspiciously wet. "Gaara is one of my precious people. He's not how he used to be. He's changed. He's a better person and he _cares_ for his village. He deserves to _live_."

Natsuka pondered all of this for a long moment. Thought about what she could do in this situation, what she should do. The causes and the effects, the pros and the cons. Then she finally gave a shallow nod to the boy next to her and spoke again.

"Well, if this Gaara kid is as great as you seem to think he is, then we'd better hurry up, hmm?"

Naruto's eyes widened at her words, and a single tear fell down his face and into oblivion. Slowly, his fierce frown lifted into a gentle smile, and he gave her a grateful nod in return.

* * *

They pushed the rest of the way into Suna in comfortable silence. They'd been running through sand for several hours now, and something was still bothering Natsuka. She sped up to run alongside TenTen, who hadn't said a word since earlier.

"TenTen?" She questioned hesitantly. The girl rarely got angry, or upset at all, but something was definitely up with her. "What is it?"

TenTen's eyes slid over to look at her, though she didn't turn my head. "It's nothing."

She sped up a bit and was soon out of reach, effectively ending the conversation. She stared at her teammates back for a moment, uncomprehending, before she huffed in annoyance and flashed to the girl's side.

"Want to try that again?"

TenTen once again glanced her way, and finally sighed in resignation and rolled her eyes. "It's nothing important Natsuka really. It's just… it was a bit of a shock to hear that stuff about Naruto. I had no idea."

Natsuka cocked her head to the side and stared unflinchingly at TenTen. "Does it bother you?" She asked neutrally.

"No," TenTen rushed out. "Yes." Her jaw was clenched. It looked a bit painful. "Yes, it does bother me. But not for the reasons you might think."

"Why then?" She bit out, voice harsher than she'd meant it to be. It was only then that she realized she didn't like the idea of someone not accepting Naruto. She'd allowed herself to be a bystander for years, but no more. She knew what it was like to have no say and no choice. She knew what it was like to be given a fate you didn't want.

"My parents were killed in the Kyuubi's attack. It's why I grew up an orphan."

She blinked, momentarily stunned. Of all the things she'd been waiting to hear, that had certainly not been what she'd expected.

Though it added up. She'd never asked TenTen about her parents, because she knew she was an orphan. She didn't even have a last name. Her parents must have been killed when she was barely a toddler.

"I know it's silly, and wrong. I don't even remember them. But I know that beast killed them. It took away my only family. And I know I can't compare Naruto to what lies within him, _but it's so hard not to."_

"It's not, TenTen. You _know_ Naruto, you know who he is. Don't let this change anything."

TenTen looked despondent and unconvinced. "I know, ok? But now every time I see him I just think about what could have been. What if? What if my family lived? Where would I be today if I'd had someone who loved me?"

The sand kicked up behind their feet as they flew through the desert at great speeds with their companions travelling alongside them, but in that moment the girls only looked at each other.

"You do have family," Natsuka said quietly, somberly. "We're your family. And you're more my family than my actual one has ever been." Besides Neji, of course. "I love you and…" she grimaces as a stab of emotion lanced through her. "And that's just going to have to be enough."

TenTen stared at her as if she were a stranger, wide eyed, anger long forgotten. The two girls continued to stare at each other and Natsuka was beginning to feel _very_ uncomfortable when finally, TenTen let out a tiny chuckle. It escalated shortly into a full blown laugh, until TenTen was laughing so much she had tears in her eyes and their teammates looked their way, baffled.

Natsuka allowed a small smile to grace her face, eyes unusually wide with emotion. Happiness.

It would not last.

* * *

"Tell me you're joking."

The Anbu Commander of Konoha, one of the most powerful nin alive, gulped audibly. "Unfortunately not, Hokage-sama."

" _Where is he?"_

Shizune slowly eased her hand over to the sake bottle on the corner of the Godaime's desk, hastily grabbing it before Tsunade could throw it at anyone.

"We don't know."

"We. Don't. Know?" The Hokage's words were suspiciously sweet.

"That is correct."

Her hand lashed out, only to find the spot she knew a bottle was supposed to be empty. She glared at her oldest apprentice but said nothing. "How soon can we find him?"

"We're working on it."

In other words, 'we don't know.' Tsunade sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Go away," she said tiredly. When she opened her eyes again, the Anbu commander was gone. She looked to the only other person left in the room, Shizune.

"So we can't unseal the scrolls, because we can't find Jiraiya."

It wasn't a question, but the younger woman answered anyway. "Yes."

"And we can't get more sake, because TenTen is on a mission."

Shizune stilled herself so she didn't glance over at the half empty bottle sitting precariously on the window sill. "Yes, Hokage-sama. It's very unfortunate."


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Author's Note: A new antagonist is re-introduced in this chapter. They are an OC, and will be the only other OC to ever be a part of this story. Enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 14: Limb, Missing

 _Silently with bloodied knuckles, carry on_

* * *

They arrived to Suna's gates fourteen hours after exiting Konoha's. It was quite the feat considering the trip took a week going a merchant's pace.

The first thing Natsuka took note of was the lack of damage. After witnessing one invasion, she'd been expecting a catastrophe on a similar level. But the gates looked to be largely intact, and she only saw a few plumes of smoke within the village itself. Perhaps the damage was not as bad as they'd been led to believe.

They were greeted at the gates by a small hoard of Suna nin, and with only a few words exchanged they were ushered inside the village. She was again taken aback by the lack of rubble and fire, the lack of bodies and destruction. She raised a brow at TenTen as they shared a silent look.

The village appeared empty, but she knew that was not true. With a missing Kazekage, the place was bound to be on high-security lockdown. Regardless, they did not pass a single soul on the way to their destination. Which, she learned a few moments later, was the hospital.

It was a shabby tan building only two stories high, and she remembered that Konoha was by far superior in the medical field. She wondered what TenTen would be doing.

Upon entering the building, the world suddenly came back to life. They were greeted by a cacophony of voices and figures streaking around and sprinting through hallways. An older looking nurse brushed clumsily by her with a clipboard in hand, but then spun around and pointed a finger at them.

"You! Which one of you is TenTen?"

TenTen raised a hand hesitantly into the air. "Me?" It sounded more like a question.

"Come with me," the nurse said brusquely, and then spun back around and started walking.

"Ma'am," one of the Suna shinobi at our sides said. "They haven't been briefed-"

"I don't care!" The nurse yelled without so much as a look back. "The Kazekage's brother is going to die if we don't help him _now_ , so why don't you run along and go be useful somewhere else while we do our jobs."

As the nurse kept rushing down the hall, the rest of the group stood still in rather shocked silence. Finally, after a moment, TenTen took a small step, then another, and then started running after the nurse. "I'll catch up with you guys later!" She called over her shoulder.

The Suna nin who'd spoken cleared his throat, and she wondered if being lectured by the hospital staff was a regular thing around here. "The rest of you can come with me. Temari will brief you all on the situation."

The kazekage's- Gaara's- sister. They were led through a few winding hallways and up a flight of stairs at a brisk pace before arriving at what appeared to be a waiting room. A girl with four spiky tufts of blond hair sticking out from her head turned at their arrival.

She remembered her. The female teammate from the exams. So, she was Gaara's sibling. She wondered if his brother was the other boy she'd seen, with the ridiculous purple paint all over his face. There were two elderly people at her side, a man and a woman. They reminded her of Konoha's village elders.

"Thank you for getting here so quickly," she greeted them somberly. She gave Naruto a fond smile and he returned it with a cheery wave, though his heart didn't seem to be in it.

The elderly woman to Temari's right sneered wordlessly straight at Kakashi, but for some reason the man chose not to comment on the odd behavior.

"They took him yesterday. Deidara, a missing-nin from Iwa, and one of our own. Sasori," she spit out angrily. "They took us by surprise… we weren't prepared for anything like this to happen." She sounded angry and upset and scared all at once.

Natsuka didn't know whether to be disappointed in Suna because a mere two men had been able to abduct a kazekage, or fearful of the two men for being able to pull it off.

"With Gaara gone and Kankuro…" she trailed off and didn't finish her sentence. "I can't leave the village. I need you to go after them."

Well, this was news.

"What are we waiting for then! Let's go." This, of course, came from Naruto.

"Hold on there for a second, youthful blossom! We were instructed we'd be staying within the village for the duration of our mission." How Gai managed to exude such confidence and authority while wearing green spandex, she'd never know.

Temari grimaced. "That was the original plan, but your Anbu squad never arrived."

"What?" Kakashi sounded surprised, and though the Suna delegation probably couldn't tell, alarmed. "They should've been here hours ago."

"I promise, you're the first group from Konoha we've seen."

The room suddenly burst into a chaotic rumble of sound and voices as everyone started talking at once. Amidst the ensuing panic, frantic planning and rapid discussion, the lone Hyuuga sighed.

It seemed this mission was off to a wondrous start.

* * *

In another part of the desert, three masked Anbu faced off against two figures wearing identical dark cloaks with red clouds.

"How exactly did this happen?" Genma bit out through his mask. He ducked just in time to avoid a sharp wave of metal spikes.

The three-man squad, short a member for quite some time now, did not have the same fluidity it used to have. They'd been caught off guard on the way to their destination by two peculiar chakra signatures.

Signatures they now knew belonged to members of the Akatsuki.

"We should've been in Suna hours ago," Genma went on, annoyance coloring his voice and making it gruffer than usual. The sharp tooth clenching the senbon in his mouth gleamed.

"Yes, well," another voice spoke from some distance away, "tell me again why we decided to take a detour?" Shisui's attempt at a joke fell flat when he let out a wet cough at the end. He'd taken a short sword to the gut earlier in a shallow stab and it tickled just a bit.

"Hn."

"Itachi!" Shisui whirled towards the masked figure of his younger cousin and pointed a finger at him. "Can you get in the game, man?!" He shook his head at Itachi, as if annoyed that he was not currently contributing to the fight.

Never mind the fact that he was short an arm.

The Uchiha prodigy lost possession of it some time ago, when a wave of water as tall as a small mountain turned to stone in less time than it took his eyes to blink once. He was currently laying prone on the ground, mediocre bandage wrapped hastily over his missing appendage.

He'd underestimated to two mercenaries' cohesiveness and ability to work well with each other. The giant, blue-skinned man that was reminiscent of a shark had cast out a simple water jutsu that Itachi at first believed he'd have no trouble evading.

At least, that's how he felt until the other figure, a woman, slid up from the ground and turned the water to stone with a few quick hand seals and near silent words.

After twisting his body into an impressive array of contortionism to avoid fatal damage, he came away from the stone mostly intact. Besides his left arm.

Directly after that, Shisui delivered a brutal kick to the woman's sternum, and her control was lost as the stone wall dissipated and crumbled to the ground. Itachi's arm fell along with it, and it now sat off to the side in an inconspicuous little scroll, courtesy of Genma.

Shisui coughed again to clear his throat. "Why the fuck was that lady not in the dossier we were given?" With Itachi out of commission, they were down to two on two. A fair, even battle. It might be at least, if they knew anything about who they were fighting.

The man's name was Kisame Hoshigaki, missing-nin from Mist. Also a famed Seven Swordsmen. A formidable opponent, but no one the three of them couldn't handle together. The woman, however, was an enigma. She bore a slashed Iwa hitai-ate and used the village's characteristic jutsu's, but something about her seemed off. Wrong.

Never mind the fact that she had an unusual amount of chakra control, something that was certainly _not_ characteristic of Iwa.

"You're chatting up a storm over there, little ducklings!" The woman called to them. Her voice, which could only be described at guttural and unhinged, would've unnerved lesser nin. Her long, dirty brown hair shifted as she swayed from the side to side, and the scars crisscrossing her face gaped horrendously when she smiled. Her teeth, though not as impressive as her blue skinned counterpart, were quite the sight.

Nevertheless, Genma just raised a casual brow and crossed his arms over his chest as he tried to catch his breath.

"What's your name?" Shisui called out.

The woman continued grinning. "My name," she spread her arms out wide, invitingly. "Is Tenma."

Shisui narrowed his eyes at the lack of surname. He tried to recall every bingo book, every dossier, every piece of information he'd read over or heard. He'd never heard that name before. Not from Iwa, not from anyone.

The woman looked a bit older than him, perhaps around the age of most of the Jounin sensei. He'd fought in the Third Shinobi World War as a young child and remembered fighting alongside Iwa shinobi when they'd been allies. He'd never seen this woman before.

The Hyuuga heiress suffered a brutal death at the hands of Iwa imposters. The real identity of the criminals still remained unknown.

A pair of very important eyes still lay somewhere or with some _one_ , unaccounted for.

Deidara of the Akatsuki was a well-known missing-nin from Iwa. He'd been a renowned member of the Explosion Corps. His true identity could easily be proven and accounted for.

This woman was another story.

"What's a girl like you doing with the Akatsuki?" He asked, voice mockingly friendly. "Does your group really need _two_ Iwa nin?"

If his attempt at goading her worked, she didn't show it. Rather, her grin only sharpened as she unleashed the short sword from its place across her back. Next to her, Kisame unleashed a sharp grin of his own.

"Enough talking," his timbre voice said lowly.

Genma grumbled a few expletives under his breath and Shisui braced himself. They were both fast enough to evade the shark man's attacks, but the blue man seemed to be in possession of a never-ending supply of chakra. His attacks would only cease when he was defeated or when one of them was caught by the writhing sword in his hand. The Samehada.

Shisui let out a slow breath through his nose and focused. The world quieted as his red eyes took in every detail. Itachi lay off to the side hovering in and out of consciousness, out of the fight and away from the fray. He would not be touched. Genma's chakra reserves were higher than Shisui's; he'd be able to take the forefront of attacks while Shisui came up with a plan.

A Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, and the anomaly known only as Tenma. How hard could it be?

* * *

Team Gai raced across enormous dunes of sand as quickly as their feet would carry them, pushing chakra into their feet to keep them stable and moving swiftly.

They'd departed from Team 7's company nearly an hour ago. Once Naruto discovered there was no one going after his friend, there'd been no stopping the boy. And after the chat she'd had with Naruto earlier, she didn't blame him. She felt as if she'd been enlightened to a whole new side of the kid.

They'd had to wait for TenTen to finish working on Kankuro before they could take off after the missing kazekage's trail. He'd been nearly fatally poisoned by the puppet master, Sasori.

Luckily, it looked like he'd pull through. TenTen informed them of this as they blasted into the desert, looking a little worse for wear but with a smile on her face as she told them the Kazekage's brother would live.

Byakugan already activated, Natsuka's eyes did not miss the state of TenTen's chakra. It was no matter, she was to play a medic role and interfere only when needed. And hopefully, they would have no need of her services.

She thought about who they may run into and suppressed a shudder. She'd only recently accepted bugs into her life, she didn't think she was ready for puppets.

"We've found ourselves in a most un-youthful situation," Gai said, voice grim and low. They still heard him over the sound of the wind. "I have the utmost confidence in you, my students. However, I would be afraid for even my own life in the presence of S-rank nin. I will only worry even more with the three of you there."

It was truly a gloomy day when Might Gai sounded so serious. It was an even gloomier day when Might Gai admitted to being afraid of something.

 _I wish Neji were here._

"Relax, Gai-sensei," she said as casually as she possibly could. "We're not the bratty Rookie 9, remember? We can keep our cool in any situation." She smirked, but it did not reach her eyes.

"Yosh!" Lee said only a bit shakily. "Believe in us, Gai-sensei!"

When Natsuka and TenTen nodded resolutely at the declaration, a true smile finally graced Gai's face. It wasn't the best motivational speech of all time, but it was the best they could offer.

Natsuka's head swiveled sharply when chakra signatures came into focus ahead. "Up ahead," she called out.

At once, the easygoing atmosphere shriveled up as Team Gai focused on what lay ahead. "How many?" Gai demanded. The role of friendly sensei was over as a commander took the helm.

"Five." Her veiny eyes squinted as she took in the scene they were headed straight for. If they were in a different environment the rest of the team might already be able to see the shinobi up ahead, but the dunes were the size of small mountains this far out into the desert.

Her hands clenched and a small noise escaped the back of her throat when she recognized three of the signatures.

"What is it?" TenTen asked quickly. In front of them, Gai cast her a quick glance out of the corner of his eye.

"It's Sh-" she paused. "Uh. It's an Anbu team."

"Yosh, Gai-sensei. Could it be the team sent out before us?"

"I'm afraid it might be, Lee." Incredulity laced their sensei's voice.

They continued on even quicker than before, their feet carrying them along the sand. The sun shone brightly and none of them escaped it, sweat dotting their brows. TenTen huffed ragged breaths, but didn't utter a word. Natsuka took a moment to peruse the signatures in greater detail.

"One is injured." Itachi. "I can't tell exactly what is it, but I think it's bad." She was making this presumption based on the fact that the young Uchiha wasn't moving. Just what could take such a prodigy down?

Gai grimaced and, if her eyes weren't mistaken, faltered for a single step.

She was so focused on their allies that she paid no attention to the two unknown signatures. While Itachi's chakra was sluggish and muted, Shisui's and Genma's remained remarkably energized. They were not seriously injured. She sensed worry and trepidation from the two men, but no underlying terror or unadulterated fear. That was good. Perhaps the enemies weren't so bad.

Team Gai crossed a particularly large crest of a dune, and suddenly they could see the battlefield below them.

The five nin, so far below, looked a bit like ants. But they did not slow, and soon the figures were taking shape and detail. Soon she could see the crimson in Shisui's eyes and the glint of Genma's senbon. She was a bit stumped – no pun intended – at the lack of a certain Uchiha's arm.

Some of her eased worry came back to her in an instant. _Itachi Uchiha was missing an arm._

Beside her TenTen gasped, and she knew her friend had seen. No doubt she'd be to Itachi's side in just a moment.

By now, they'd definitely been noticed. But neither side even glanced at the new guests. Natsuka belatedly wondered where Team 7 was. They'd not passed any remnants of other signatures on the way here.

The four of them halted an appropriate distance from the two enemy nin, standing in a loose semi-circle around the two remaining Anbu. TenTen kneeled onto the ground by Itachi as her hand lit up in a green flame.

Evidence of the battle that must have already occurred littered the sand around them. It looked as if the dunes around them had been completely flattened, but sand lay around them in swirls and strange patterns, as if it'd been manipulated in some way. Natsuka quirked an eyebrow when she saw something strange laying amongst the debris of sand.

It only caught her eye because it was right in front of her feet, and because its dark color contrasted so much against the bright sand. Slowly, she crouched down into a graceful kneel and dropped a hand to the ground. She picked up the piece of stone and looked at it uncomprehendingly.

Suddenly, time seemed to slow as she rose to her full height. The piece of rock in her hand crumbled to bits as her fists crumbled it into oblivion. Distantly, she heard voices and realized Gai was speaking to the two nin facing them.

Distantly, she saw the red clouds decorating their dark cloaks and realized they were Akatsuki, but just as quickly realized they were not the Akatsuki they were seeking. It was not Sasori of the Red Sand or Deidara of Iwa in front of them.

It was far worse.

 _The enemy kunoichi landed gracefully on the ground several yards away from them. She straightened up and gave them all a rather frightening smile. She was a hideous sight; scars slashed across her face and her brown hair was a mass of dirty dreadlocks cascading down her back. The look in her eyes chilled Natsuka to her core._

Chilling cool gray eyes she'd seen only once before in her life stared her down for a second time. Natsuka's translucent eyes slowly slid to the alarmingly blue toned hulk of a man standing next to the woman. They matched, in a way. Both were unusually tall, but the woman was all limbs with an oddly angular face while the man looked about the size of all of Team Gai combined.

She realized words were gurgling out of her mouth. "Wha.. Wh-what-." Her eyes only strayed to the blue man – who wore an amused expression and appeared to be exchanging biting words with her sensei - for a moment before sliding back over to the woman.

Her open stare did not go unnoticed. "It's nice to see you again, little Hyuuga." The woman's voice was shrill and the words grated through Natsuka's eardrums and it was in that moment that she realized _this was really happening._

Hands landed on her shoulders, and Natsuka was so spooked that she jumped a foot in the air. Her heart didn't even slow a bit when the breath of a familiar voice tickled her ear. "You know her." Shisui's voice was laced with many questions, but she didn't know where to start.

"Her name is Tenma. Where have you seen her before?" It didn't surprise her that he'd already made such leaps and deductions in the span of seconds. She'd never had such an adverse reaction to anyone before, not once. It also didn't surprise her that his tone suggested he already knew the answer.

But she didn't understand, not at all. "I killed her," she said blankly.

Thin lips stretched to reveal sharp, ugly teeth. "We met quite a while ago, but I'm sure you remember me," Tenma called out, voice soft and loud all at once. Next to her, her blue skinned companion quieted and glanced between the two of them, looking intrigued. Eyes roamed leisurely up and down her figure. "You've grown."

Suddenly Natsuka remembered things, very important things, and her train of thought came to a screeching halt before starting up again, this time going in reverse.

"You killed her."

Her words didn't seem to have any effect on the woman – on Tenma. If anything, her smile widened and she looked even more amused. "I seem to recall that it was my partner who dealt the killing blow. Shame, really," Tenma drawled, words slow and sweet. Goading.

" _You killed her."_

The hands on her shoulders, that she only just realized were still there, tightened. She shook them off without a thought and took an aggressive step forward. All around her, the world was silent. If anyone spoke, she did not hear it. If the wind blew granules of sand against her skin, she did not feel it. A dark strand of hair blew across her eyes, but she did not see it.

She was in a three hundred and sixty-degree field of vision, but in that moment, she only saw the monster in front of her.

 _Not my fault. Not my fault. I didn't do it. I didn't do it._

The mantra she'd forced into her head through the past year and a half raged through her mind. Inoichi Yamanaka's words found their way in as well.

 _You are not responsible for the actions of others._

She wasn't responsible for Hinata's death. She wasn't. She didn't do it. She wasn't guilty of that crime.

But the woman standing in front of her was.

Tenma's smile grew _wider_ , and her teeth seemed to grow sharper, and her eyes glistened with a victorious sheen. She cocked her head to the side.

And Natsuka _lost it._ Completely, undeniably and irrevocably lost it.

All the pent up rage and frustration, all the guilt and turmoil that'd sat on the brim of her subconscious for so long and was just waiting to spill over. It didn't need a harsh shove, it only needed a gentle nudge. And the woman's silent smile, all conniving and remorseless, was all it took.

Later, she'd wonder if her actions had been intentionally allowed. She would wonder how it was possible for quite possibly the fastest nin alive to not catch her and hold her back, and just as soon realize it wasn't.

Even as her feet took her forward faster than she'd ever gone before, the world seemed to be moving in slow motion. Out of the corner of her wide, crazed pale eyes she saw the figures of her teammates. She saw TenTen glance up from Itachi just in time to see her spring forward, saw Lee's mouth literally drop open, and saw Gai's eyes widen and mouth tighten at the corners in alarm, but the Green Beast had no time to react.

Through her enhanced vision she saw Genma and Shisui, directly behind her, and felt their chakra signatures tighten in what she could only describe as horror.

No one's reaction surprised her. After all, it wasn't every day that one got to see a Hyuuga truly let loose.

And let loose she did. She realized in the back of her mind, as she got closer and closer to Tenma, that she had no plan of attack whatsoever and that it should alarm her that Tenma's expression had not changed, nor did the woman make any move to get out of the way.

She also realized distantly that a noise was coming from her throat, something between a growl and a shriek. If she'd been of sane mind in that moment, she'd have crinkled her nose and remark that the noise sounded reminiscent of a screaming banshee.

Her feet burned fiercely with the overwhelming amount of chakra she'd inadvertently gathered there. Tenma got closer and closer until she was all Natsuka could see, and her arms lifted and her dainty pale hands curled into pale claws to _rip her throat out and-_

And her hands latched onto pure, ragged, _solid_ , stone.

Natsuka let out a horrified yelp as pain lit up her senses and several of her fingers got stuck, jammed halfway into the stone figure of Tenma. Up close, it was a remarkable sight. Facial features were etched into the rock where her face had been, and even the jarringly sharp grin was present. Whatever type of jutsu this was would require incredible control.

Too caught up in her rage to really take notice of the pain, she growled low in her throat and yanked her arms out of the crumbling stone throat. A flare of pain, and then she felt no more as the rage took over. Blood trickled down onto the hot sand, and the sounds of metal clashing on metal reached her ears and she knew the battle had truly begun.

Only seconds had passed since she'd first leapt into action, but it felt like a lifetime. She didn't care who was fighting the blue man, she only had eyes for Tenma.

Hand still clenched into curling claws, she whirled around, eyes still wide and crazed, searching for her target. In that moment, she looked like a predator hunting her prey. Only, she wasn't the true predator here.

She was forced to spin and jump away a good distance into the air when the sand around her feet started swirling and brushing up around her calves. She was disturbed to feel chakra within the sand itself, and even more disturbed by the feeling of dread it gave her.

Faster than one would think possible, an enormous amount of sand in the surrounding area lifted and moved as if it had a life of its own, and she was blankly horrified when the sand separated into chunks and slowly started to solidify. Into figures.

She was truly aghast when the sand seemed to darken and tighten, and suddenly it was not sand she was staring at but stone. And the stone was _moving_. Perhaps a dozen and a half figures, looming in a threatening circle around her.

She had no time to look around and find the true enemy, because wherever Tenma had run off to, it wasn't here and she had a bit of a problem on her hands. Her bloody, broken hands. She glanced down in mild surprise to see four of her fingers, two on each hand, twisted at odd angles. Her hands were covered in grime and cuts and blood, and she noticed a small white shard peeking out of her right pointer finger and realized it was blood.

How would she fight with broken hands?

How stupid could she possibly be, running into battle like this? She wasn't Naruto, for Kami's-sake. There was no time to dwell on the matter, however, because the eerie clones were closing in, and so was her panic.

She was incredibly confused and curious as to how clones made of rock could move with such fluidity, but somehow it was happening. She could see faint, almost translucent chakra networks lacing delicately through the chunks of rock. Not only would extreme control be required, but this woman must also be in possession of fairly large reserves. Natsuka gritted her teeth and crouched down, on the defense and ready to leap away, when a new figure leapt into the circle alongside her.

"While I really appreciate you guys showing up to help and all, I think we had this handled. You also could have made a slightly better entrance," he added as an afterthought. He was crouched on a knee beside her and his arms were hanging loosely at his sides.

"Stop lying through your teeth, Genma, or I'll rip that senbon straight through your cheek."

Genma gave her a tight-lipped smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. They didn't really have this handled, not at all.

Genma's usually impeccable appearance was in a state of array. His blue banana sat askew on top of his head, and the few visible brown strands of his hair were limp with sweat. His face was positively covered in dirt and he looked tired beyond words.

"Light em' up." He spoke quietly but clearly between the sharp needle between his teeth.

She blundered for a brief moment, taken aback. "Huh?"

"Hasn't that idiot been teaching you fire natured jutsu, kid? Think about it, what's Iwa's weakness?"

Iwa's weakness? What beat rock?

Oh yeah. _Fire_.

The one good thing about learning a brand new type of jutsu this late in her shinobi career was that she had a great advantage. The Byakugan gave her a step up in learning any type of new technique. She was born with a certain level of advanced control and a literal eye for detail that anyone not of her clan would never attain.

In the heat of a battle that'd only just started and with blistering anger still coursing through her, Natsuka grinned.

But just as quickly her smile faded. "Oh no," she muttered despondently.

"Hmm? Might want to hurry up kid, they're getting kinda close."

"Genma!" She squeaked. When she had the man's attention, she lifted her hands up for him to see. He took one look at them and raised a single brow before sighing in resignation. "Really?"

Lightning quick, he stood up in a blink and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, she assumed to teleport them away. But before she could retort that she was perfectly capable of moving herself, another voice shouted a few quick words.

"Fire Release: Great Fire Destruction!"

The hands around her shoulders tightened in urgency, and suddenly she was actually grateful for Genma getting all up in her space. She felt a small rush of wind and felt a few grains of sand swish across her face, and suddenly they were on top of a nearby dune, looking down at the destruction below.

Flames lit up the bizarre stone clones, and it spread faster than they could flee. The figures lit up in a row of dominos and quickly blackened before crumbling away into dust. Oddly, several of the clones writhed and shuddered, and Natsuka swore she saw their arms reach up into the sky as they crumbled, as if reaching for life. A shiver passed through her spine.

Shisui landed alongside them, and she figured she owed him a thank you. How annoying.

"Thanks," she muttered begrudgingly, not sparing the Uchiha a glance.

" _Thanks_?" Taken aback by the unusually sharp words, Natsuka's eyes widened and she looked his way.

"What the hell was that? Running straight at her?" His voice was louder than usual and lacked any of the pleasant humor it usually contained.

A strange feeling coursed through her and she realized she was a bit frightened. In all their months together she'd never seen Shisui so angry.

"I was just-" she began hesitantly.

"You were just _nothing_ , is what. You didn't think, at all. We have no idea who that woman is, and you ran straight at her." Shisui was stiff as a board, and she hadn't realized how close they were. He was looming over her, face dark and grave.

"I just-" she started weakly.

"You don't even realize how dangerous that was, do you? We've been stuck here for _hours_ , Natsuka." Uh oh, her full name. "That woman is powerful beyond belief. Her chakra manipulation is unreal, and on top of that, she's certifiably insane. She chopped my cousin's arm off!" His voice now verged on crazed, and she silently thought he sounded a bit insane himself.

"Now's really not the time," Genma drawled casually. He was standing behind her with his arms crossed. "She's gone."

"What?" Shisui asked quickly, head shooting up to his partner. " _Dammit_." She didn't think she'd heard so many expletives come out of her sensei's mouth in such a short amount of time in, well, ever.

She glanced down below, beyond the destruction of burned stone and levelled sand, and saw her sensei and Lee facing off against the huge man with the giant sword. They seemed to be at a bit of a standstill. Beyond them was TenTen, green glow visible from here as she worked on the younger Uchiha.

"We should go after her," Genma said, looking at Shisui.

"Why would she leave her partner?" She asked quietly, voice still hesitant.

"It's the Akatsuki, what _wouldn't_ they do?" Genma rolled his eyes and casually placed a hand on top of her head, rustling her already messy hair. "You guys got this, right?"

She yelped in surprise and darted a quick glance between him and Shisui. "Huh?"

"Genma. No," Shisui started, but his partner cut him off.

"We have to go after her." He continued staring at Shisui in a rather pointed manner and she knew they were having some sort of silent conversation.

Some of Natsuka's adrenaline was fading and she was left feeling pain and confusion and above all, a sense of helplessness. She didn't like that feeling at all. "I don't understand," she said, voice stronger. "How? _How_?"

She lifted her bloody hands up to her face and stared at them, unblinking and unseeing. "I killed her. How did she survive? No one survives the Sixty-Four palms. _It's not possible_."

It was not every day that a Hyuuga was faced with such an illogical and impossible situation, and poor Natsuka wasn't taking it very well.

Shisui was frowning, but most of the anger seemed to have left him. "I don't know," he said, sounding drained. "But Genma is right. We have to go after her. We can't let her escape." He let out a deep sigh and rubbed a hand through his messy hair, looking frazzled. "You guys stay here."

The cogs in her mind were struggling to keep up with the situation. "You want us to separate?"

Shisui looked at her. "Your team should be able to handle Kisame. Right?"

' _Right?'_

The one word, the question added as an afterthought, fractured something deep inside her.

Shisui Uchiha didn't do anything as an afterthought. Despite all his humor and all his jest, all his pleasantry and all-around immaturity, Shisui didn't do anything without a motive. Beneath that rather shallow exterior sat a dragon, inhaling and exhaling calmly while waiting for a chance to breath fire through its razor-sharp teeth.

Sometimes she forgot her sensei was an elite shinobi. Sometimes she forgot just how powerful he really was. It was during those rare moments of remembrance that she would recall the day she'd met him. He and Genma seemed to have been literally in her path, just waiting for her to pass by.

And now here he was after all this time, through thick and through thin, and he was questioning her ability.

Once, Natsuka's ineptitude cost Hinata Hyuuga her life. She'd lost a clan heir, _a life_ , because of her inability.

After all the therapy she'd gone through with her strange cactus-loving therapist, she thought she'd gained better control of her emotions. The steel wall around her heart was supposed to be impenetrable. And it usually was – words didn't often upset her. Except for when they came from someone she cared about.

Her heart stuttered in her chest as she stared into emotionless crimson eyes.

Shisui didn't do anything without a motive, and sometimes - during those rare moments - she wondered what motives lay behind his relationship with her.

This was one of those moments. Shisui's face was wrought with such tension and utter _disappointment_ that she wasn't sure she could take it. Disappointment at her. She didn't think she could look at his face for another second.

And so she didn't.

"Yes. You're right," she said faintly, turning away. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw a hint of life spark in Shisui's eyes and she might have even seen a flicker of regret, but it was gone in an instant.

"Kisame is his name? He has… unusually generous chakra reserves." Her voice had become more distant with each word, until by the end, she sounded nothing but professional and aloof.

To her right she saw Genma grimace silently, and to her left she saw Shisui's hands clench at his sides.

"Watch out for his sword. It sucks chakra out of anything it touches and will only strengthen him." Red eyes flickered down to her broken hands.

She lifted mangled fingers and gave a casual wave. "TenTen will fix them."

She felt more than saw an arm begin to lift to pat her head yet again, but in a fluid movement she twisted forward and away, until she stood facing the two men. They each stared eat each other for a long moment, and it was the first time ever Natsuka recalled silence between the three of them being uncomfortable.

"Be careful." Genma finally spoke.

She merely nodded, and turned away before she could see them disappear. She did not return the sentiment.

Off in the distance, two green spandex covered figures rushed around in a swirl of flurries while a blue figure looked almost as if he was swatting at them like flies. That is, if flies were kunai wielding, bowl-cut wearing nin and fly swatters were legendary swords.

She took a deep breath and let it out in an even deeper sigh. _What an exhausting day - in more ways than one_ , she thought. She blinked a few times, slowly, before flickering across the battlefield to where TenTen still sat with a prone and arm-less Uchiha.

The fight with Kisame still appeared to be going nowhere, so they could obviously use her help. And since she couldn't exactly utilize her fighting style without proper use of her hands, it'd be a good idea to go get them fixed.

She shot a quick glance down to the bone still peeking out of one of her fingers, and wondered if TenTen had any band-aids.

* * *

Another Author's Note: There was a suuuuuper tiny reference to a character from Grendel in this chapter. It's a great book. Anyway, I didn't intend for this arc to move so slowly. For some reason I'm just enjoying making it really detailed though. The next chapter will _probably_ be the end of the arc. Thanks for reading~


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 15: Good times for the bad

 _There was a time I thought that you did everything right_

* * *

TenTen did not have any band-aids.

Natsuka flexed her tense fingers in agitation. She could still feel her teammates foreign – though soothing – chakra swirling through her and it was rather bothersome. She glanced down to her fingers, which now only bore faint pink lines.

She'd have to thank TenTen later, and praise her for her progress in the medical arts. She hadn't even realized how _good_ the girl had become.

Still staring perplexedly down at her fingers, she tilted her head to the side when the sound of whizzing metal neared her ears. A hand clad in green spandex caught it right next to her ear, and she rolled her eyes when a voice boomed into her skull.

"Focus, Natsuka-chan!"

She did not answer her sensei as he blurred away, and continued gazing at her hands, giving them an experimental wiggle.

"If you wanted to stare at yourself, you could have just looked straight ahead."

Natsuka stilled, let out a huff, and rolled her eyes once more. "So you want to come out and play now?" She asked tiredly.

"Perhaps."

She stared with a rather bored expression on her face at the carbon copy of herself, crouched lazily a short distance away.

After getting her hands fixed, she'd immediately moved to engage with the blue-skinned man. His name was Kisame, and his sword was quite literally _alive_. Freakishly, it seemed to have a life of its own, much like Tenma's rock clones. The weapon possessed its own unique chakra, and Kisame's own pool of chakra was very likely the largest she'd ever seen.

And if that wasn't unnerving enough, she'd had the joy of arriving to see Lee bumbling around, dazed and confused, and Gai's chakra reserves more than half empty. It seemed that the taijutsu powerhouses were the worst possible match for this hulk of a ninja. They simply could not keep up with his unending ninjutsu.

She'd been ready for a tiresome battle, but the moment she arrived and slipped into attack position, newly healed hand slipping into her weapon's pouch, Kisame's eyes washed over hers for a split second before he cocked his head to the side and glanced away. He'd looked in the direction Shisui and Genma had gone, after the woman. Tenma.

He'd frowned for a moment before deigning to look at them again, before muttering something about "playing later" and uttering a quick jutsu under his breath.

He'd promptly disappeared along with his monster of a sword, and Team Gai took his place.

No, really. Team Gai took his place.

Where the blue man had been standing only a moment before stood identical copies of herself, Lee, TenTen, and Gai. With the Byakugan, Natsuka could see Kisame's chakra coursing through the eerie clones. It was very odd to see an identical chakra signature running through four different people, especially when one of them looked just like her.

Natsuka didn't like it one bit.

She was brought back to the present by yet another piece of metal whizzing by her head. This time, she caught the kunai in mid-air and tossed it back before leaping away in a fluid movement.

"I already have one twin, and he's much prettier than you. You can just go back to where you came from," she told her copy with a smile, though annoyance laced her voice. Then she frowned when she realized she might've just insulted herself.

"But that wouldn't be any fun, now would it? I just want to have some fun." The clones voice was sickeningly sweet, and she twirled several shuriken lazily between her fingers.

Natsuka frowned again. "Kami. Am I really this annoying? And be careful, would you? I've already destroyed my fingers once today."

She knew the clone wasn't a perfect copy when it _giggled_ in the most disgustingly girly voice she'd ever heard. "Don't worry, I'm a much better version of yourself than you are," it said.

Natsuka scoffed. "First of all, I'm positive that doesn't make any sense. Second, let's get real, hmm? How's this going to end? Do you think we should Sixty-Four palms each other and see who collapses first? Because I'm all for it."

The copy pursed her pink lips and brought a slender finger to her mouth, as if considering the idea. "Hmm. Ok!"

Slightly taken aback, it took Natsuka way too long to move her feet when the other Natsuka started barreling straight for her. Their speed appeared to be roughly equal though, and so she simple leaped away to safety.

"Oh no you don't!" Her own voice shouted at her, and the copy twisted mid-run to start coming at her again.

 _Is this really happening?_

With her nose crinkled in annoyance, she braced herself for impact and brought her hands into the Juken position. With her enhanced eyesight, she could see every detail of the clone coming straight at her. They had the same dark hair, in the same long braid. The same pale skin and even the same hitai-ate in the usual place around her forehead. They wore the same clothes, the same sandals, and the clone's weapons pouch was even slung over her left thigh too.

There was one difference though, and it was a rather important one.

As she and the clone made contact, she was distracted by wondering if she herself was really this stupid.

Given everything that'd just happened, probably.

As the clones fist started to come down on Natsuka's face, she raised her own pointed palms. "Gentle Fist Art: Body Blow," she murmured.

In a move reminiscent of Tsunade, a large quantity of chakra centered into a single point on Natsuka's index finger. When said finger made contact with the clone's diaphragm just a moment before a fist broke Natsuka's nose, she was given the opportunity to watch an exact replica of herself fly away into the distance. It was odd to see such a surprised look on her own face.

She leapt after the clone and watched from afar as it travelled a great distance before landing _hard_ on a dune, where it then rolled for a good thirty seconds before slowly drifting to a stop. She landed before the clone and braced her hands on her knees, peering down into her own face.

The clone was lying on its back with its hair was nearly obscuring its face, but Natsuka could still see its eyes staring vacantly up into the sky. Brown pupils framed by brown lashes. The eyes were glossy and blank, and she knew whatever had been powering the clone was no more.

"You can't replicate the Byakugan, moron." She informed the prone figure kindly, even knowing it couldn't hear her.

She blinked her own translucent pupils a few times when the chakra in front of her starting dissipating, and the clone just sort of… _melted_ away. In a matter of seconds, any evidence of it ever existing was gone.

"Gross," she muttered, and then sighed, letting out a tired breath. "At least I've done one thing right today."

She then glanced around and noted how far from everyone else they'd travelled. She could still easily identify her team's signatures in the distance though. Not too far, then.

She grimaced when she thought of Itachi still lying prone somewhere, and still missing an arm. If TenTen was still busy fighting her own copy, the Uchiha was lying somewhere _alone_ right now, helpless to any lurking Akatsuki members.

She could only hope he was alright. They'd have to split up, or travel together with him back to Suna. They couldn't leave him here and continue on. With yet another sigh, she started off back towards her team, hoping they weren't having too much trouble with their less than friendly copies.

They needed to get a move on. Whether they head back to Suna or move forward in search of Team 7, they needed to do something soon.

They'd spent more than enough time in the desert.

* * *

"I already apologized four times, what more do you want?" A loud voice rang out through the Hokage's office.

"A million ryo, a lifetime supply of sake, and… oh, more apologies, _you complete and utter imbelice_." Any persons in or around Tsunade's office had long since vacated the premises, knowing when the Hokage's mood was in a turbulent state.

"Look, I had business to attend to elsewhere, but I'm here now. What's going on Tsunade? It must be important since it's three in the afternoon and you're not even drunk." Jiraiya was grinning from ear to ear as he made the joke, but there was a certain light missing from his eyes as he watched the frown form on his old teammates face.

Tsunade growled but didn't bother to retaliate for the joke. She rubbed a hand over her aching head, more tired than usual. "It seems that I've inherited a multitude of problems, Jiraiya. Years old problems."

"What kind of problems?" Jiraiaya asked cautiously.

"There were a lot of things the old man never told us about. And why would he? It's not like we were ever around." She laughed humorlessly before continuing. "I think the Hyuuga are planning a coup. Problem is, they haven't dropped any sort of clues or evidence for me to pick up."

Jiraiya's grin was now nonexistent. Before he could even think of a response, Tsunade flung a hand out, pointing to a stack of paper on her desk.

"These. These damned scrolls. They were left behind by the Third, and I know they're the key to learning more about all the secrets floating through the village. They may even contain information on Orochimaru."

Jiraiya flinched at the name but otherwise didn't react. He finally found his voice. "Tsunade… this is a serious _claim_. You said you don't even have any evidence; why would you think they're planning a coup?" He was beginning to wonder if Tsunade had finally gone off the deep end, and was nervously flickering through potential new Hokage candidates in his mind when she responded.

"It all started with those Hyuuga brats."

His mind faltered for a moment before pausing, and he raised a brow in confusion. "Huh?"

"The Hyuuga twins," Tsunade went on. "After that failed mission – how many years ago was it? It happened before the Third died. But Hiashi's daughter went and got killed, and everything went downhill after that."

"Uh," he said slowly. "What do you mean? The heir died, so what? Accidents happen, another child took her place." Jiraiya may not be around often, but he kept up with the major clan business enough.

"Be that as it may, the Hyuuga clan took a major turn after that event. I have transcripts of a meeting between the clan head and elders with the Hokage that took place shortly after the incident, but half of the damned thing is blacked out. And then there's these," she pointed to the scrolls again. It was only then that Jiraiya noticed the simple on the top page, a black line streaked across, marking it as top secret. "I need you to unseal them."

He held his hands up in protest. "Woah, woah! Slow down, Tsunade. First of all, you still haven't given me any evidence. And I can't just unseal top secret information. Honestly, a coup? It sounds ludicrous."

Annoyance colored Tsunade's tone. "You need more? Fine. After the incident, the entire clan went on lockdown. Hardly anyone goes in or out these days, besides those leaving on missions. Hiashi had his niece engaged to an Aburame and essentially threw her out, which is despicable but not really worrisome. The thing that finally convinced me something was going on was what he did with the other twin, Neji."

Jiraiya still wasn't entirely convinced. Actually, he wasn't convinced at all, but he continued listening nevertheless.

"Hiashi stuck that kid with his daughter, Hanabi. Marrying off cousins, really? That hasn't been practiced since the village founding. He's grooming the kid to take over. Again, not exactly worrisome. _But,_ a few months ago I finally figured out why no one had seen the kid in ages and why he was removed from Team Gai over a year ago."

Jiraiya gestured for her to continue, now slightly curious.

"Hiashi threw the kid to root. To _Danzou_."

Jiraiya froze as every muscle in his body locked up. Danzou. _Danzou Shimura_. With one name, he was suddenly _very_ convinced that Tsunade was on to something.

"I just have a feeling, Jiraiya. A bad one. I've never trusted that old geezer, and now he's got a Hyuuga prodigy to mold and meld to his liking. I've had my best agents tracing the Hyuuga twins, but they can never keep track of the boy. He disappeared after the Third's death. It doesn't add up."

Jiraiya wasn't known as a spy-master for nothing. Though he rarely ventured into Konoha's walls, he'd never stopped working in service to his village. As he stared at the Fifth Hokage, sitting at her desk with the customary hat slung over the chair, his mind took him back to years earlier, when he'd often stood before a different Hokage.

He remembered dark nights and gray days when the fate of another clan had nearly been placed in the wrong hands. He still had memories of a young boy with dark eyes kneeling before him, reporting on the actions of his own clan. Spying on his own family.

If it'd been up to Danzou Shimura, the Uchiha clan wouldn't be in existence today. Luckily, back then they'd had more sound minds to intervene before the situation could escalate.

He nervously glanced around the room, eyeing the silencing seals already in place, before adding a layer of his own. He took a deep breath and took a seat across from his blonde teammate. He sent a troubled glance at the stack of scrolls before looking straight at Tsunade.

"I'll unseal them. But first, there's something I need to tell you."

* * *

Something in Natsuka's heart clenched as she watched the life seep out of the Suna elder. Chiyo was her name, and she'd given her life for her Kazekage. Would any other nin do the same?

She should've given her own life for her clan heir's, yet she did not. Where she'd made a grievous mistake, this elderly woman had done everything right. Gaara would live.

With a hand on her back lending chakra, Naruto knelt next to Chiyo, crying softly. The rest of his team surrounded him in a protective circle, each sporting grim faces.

The gates of Suna could just barely be seen on the horizon. There'd been no time to move Gaara back into the safety of the village; whatever forbidden jutsu this woman was using needed to be used as soon as possible.

Suddenly, the woman stiffened and then slumped onto the sandy desert floor next to the still unconscious Kazekage. Her clawed hands unfurled and some of the lines in her face seemed to disappear as her face relaxed and she took on an almost serene expression. She was dead.

Standing a respectful distance away along with Lee, Natsuka could not help but feel a small sliver of regret. Perhaps, if only TenTen had come with them…

But no, it would not help anyone to think that way. After defeating their clones, Team Gai split up. Gai and TenTen travelled back to Suna with the comatose Itachi while she and Lee travelled ahead in search of Team 7 and the missing Kazekage.

Unfortunately, their timely battle had cost them. When they'd arrived on the scene Gaara had already been dead. TenTen's arrival would not have changed a thing. And besides, Natsuka was doubtful that even her skilled friend could do much when a forbidden jutsu was required to revive the village leader.

Shisui and Genma were not here. She hadn't seen them since their departure several hours earlier.

Gaara appeared to be slowly waking up, and amidst the tearful reunion between the two jinuchuuriki's, she sidled up to a certain copy-nin's side.

"What happened?" She murmered.

Kakashi grimaced before answering in a quiet tone. "By the time we caught up he was already gone. We had to fight two Akatsuki just to get to his body. Only managed to take one of them out though." He seemed regretful.

"Who? We ran into the missing Anbu squad and fought two members on our way here. I didn't catch your signatures anywhere along the way."

Kakashi turned a bit to look at her, and looked confused. It was kind of difficult to tell with the mask, though. "Deidara. Sasuke got the killing blow on him. Sakura and I fought his partner, Sasori together, but he escaped at the last second." He paused for a moment. "Who did you run into?"

"Not those two," she answered. So there'd been four Akatsuki members total involved with the Kazekage's kidnapping. "A blue guy," Kakashi raised an eyebrow at her word choice, "and-"

Her voice abruptly cut off, as she was overcome with memories of the recent confrontation with Tenma. Tenma, who she'd watched die with her very own eyes. Whom she'd killed herself.

"-and another member. Someone unknown," she finished, voice a bit hollow.

Clearly noticing her change in demeanor but choosing not to comment, Kakashi questioned her further. "And the Anbu squad?"

"When one of them ran away, they went after her. I haven't seen them since. Or sensed them," she added.

Kakashi blinked a couple times and then scratched his gravity defying hair. "We'll need to go after them."

"Hmm," was all she said, but she wholeheartedly agreed.

This entire day had been nothing but a complete mess.

* * *

Eventually, they returned to the village, a group of Suna shinobi respectfully carrying Chiyo's body through the gates. Gaara led the way in, and Natsuka was taken aback by the cheering she heard upon passing through the walls.

What had been a ghost town a matter of hours ago was now a thriving village. All the villagers she'd been wondering about appeared to have come out of nowhere, and were cheering enthusiastically for the safe return of their esteemed leader.

It was rather charming.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw one Uzumaki's eyes looking suspiciously misty. Neither Sakura or broody Sasuke appeared to notice, but Natsuka did.

Naruto appeared to be getting rather emotional as he took in the sight before him. She couldn't help but look at the celebrating villagers and then back to him. He wore a slight smile on his face and was patting Gaara on the back, with nothing but happiness showing in his eyes.

Natsuka didn't often care about the business of others; she had enough going on with herself. She'd already messed up quite a lot of things in her life, and she was only sixteen. Who knew what fate had in store for her? Did she deserve a to be successful, to achieve her lifelong goals?

She really had no idea, mostly because she didn't even have any lifelong goals. But she thought of all of Naruto's ambitious hopes and dreams as she watched the sunshine cascade around him, and she knew that he unequivocally did.

* * *

As in turned out, a retrieval team for the two missing Konoha nin was not needed. They returned to Suna a few hours later, just as the sun was setting.

They'd returned looking even worse for wear than they had when she'd last seen them, but they were alive and in one piece. The same couldn't be said for their third teammate.

Because of their _slight_ altercation the last time she'd seen them, she'd been hesitant to greet them and decided to hang back. Because of that, she missed out on the details of their escapade as they talked quietly with Gai and Kakashi. Judging by their stony faces though, it didn't seem to have gone well.

TenTen had successfully reattached a certain Uchiha's missing arm, but it would require several weeks of physical therapy before he was back in peak condition. Knowing Uchiha's – which she only kind of did, really – he was likely incredibly annoyed by the whole ordeal.

They returned to Konoha a week later, after a slow and casual trek home. Slow because a certain stubborn Uchiha refused to remain behind in Suna to recover and thus they were forced to travel with care, but also because everyone just needed a break.

Not only had this retrieval mission been a huge pain in the ass, it'd shed light on some new issues. Namely, this mercenary group known as Akatsuki. According to Naruto, they were after the jinchuuriki hosts, but no one quite knew why.

This was bad for several reasons. One of those reasons was currently ambling alongside her. And now they knew firsthand that this was a not a group to be reckoned with. They had the power and brute force to back up their now infamous reputation. Natsuka was dimly surprised that they hadn't come away from it all with more serious injuries.

She hadn't said a word to either Shisui or Genma all week. They'd remained largely on the outskirts of their group, talking only to Itachi in quiet moments, and sometimes the Jounin sensei. She had a feeling they only stuck around because their teammate had been forced to travel at a much slower pace, and they didn't want to leave him behind.

That got her thinking, and she crinkled her nose in confusion. Anbu squads should have four members, but for some reason they'd participated in this mission with only three. She knew they had a fourth, because she dimly remembered seeing a fourth the very first time she'd been introduced to them. The day Hinata died was a truly terrible day, and she honestly didn't remember every detail. It was easier sometimes, to block out certain memories.

She did, however, remember the fourth member of their squad. So where was he?

"Say, you wanna get some ramen?" Naruto asked as they passed by the friendly gate guards.

Distracted, she crinkled her nose again, this time in disgust. "Naruto. It's seven in the morning."

Her friend nearly blinked at her, as if wondering why that mattered, and TenTen let out a chuckle beside her. She seemed to have gotten over her earlier hesitance of Naruto, and Natsuka was glad.

She and TenTen spent a lot of time with the other rookies, but neither of them would call any of the preteens their _best_ friends, and Natsuka only realized after TenTen's revelation that sometimes the girl had a tendency to avoid the jinchuuriki and his team all together. Hopefully now that everything was out in the open, such behavior would come to an end.

Deep down, there was a tiny part of Natsuka that reveled in the idea of having _close_ friends. People she could rely on. Maybe even trust. For her entire life, trust had been something reserved only for her brother. And she wasn't even sure if that was true anymore.

She politely declined Naruto's offer and decided a nice nap would be a much better use of her time.

As if reading her mind, and purposefully wanting to irritate her, the boisterous sound of her sensei's voice invaded her eardrums. "Yosh! Ramen sounds delicious, and what a great way to spend time together after a mission!"

Naruto was nodding enthusiastically and she heard a distinctly Uchiha 'hn', as well a sigh of defeat from Sakura.

She snickered and couldn't keep her amusement hidden. "That sounds like so much fun, sensei. But I'm afraid I have a prior commitment." With her bed.

She was already turning a corner to head into the Aburame compound when Gai's voice stopped her cold. "Not so fast Suka-chan! You at least have to give your mission report first!"

Shoulders slumped, she turned back around and avoided looking Gai directly in the face, lest she be blinded by his megawatt smile. She slowly trudged forward, this time in the direction of the Hokage tower. With another chuckle TenTen followed suit, Lee not far behind.

She deigned to take a glance around and noticed Shisui and Genma seemed to have disappeared the moment they set foot in the village, injured teammate in tow.

She sighed. That was yet another problem she'd have to face eventually. Besides that, she wondered how much of an earful she was about to get from the Hokage. No doubt, her impulsive actions would be reported. She'd probably be forced into an emergency session with Inoichi, or some other ridiculous measure. She let her eyes droop and arms hang loosely at her sides, swaying slightly in the breeze. From afar she probably looked like she was sleepwalking.

"Ugh."

A slender hand patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry," TenTen offered kindly. "It won't be so bad."

"You can say that. You saved the Uchiha heir's life." She muttered sullenly. Inwardly though, she was very proud of her teammate.

"He was very kind, and thanked me profusely," she said happily. "He also complimented me on my chakra control," she gushed.

"Why don't you just marry the guy?" She asked, and if possible, her voice was even more sullen. She could have quite the attitude when she really wanted to.

She glanced her teammates way after several moments of no response, and was positively shocked to see the light shade of red dusting her friend's cheeks.

"Wait, what?" She exclaimed sharply, voice going up several octaves.

Lee sidled up alongside them on TenTen's other side, and in a moment of extreme hilarity, pinched the girls red cheek. "Yosh! TenTen has a crush. How youthful!"

Everything was dead silent for precisely half a second, before she couldn't help it and promptly burst into laughter.

"Y-you," she hiccupped, "You have a c-crush on Itachi Uchiha!" She was laughing so hysterically that it was a struggle to get the words out. She didn't know why the idea of someone crushing on the prestigious heir was so funny, but it _was_. And it was even better because it was stoic, serious TenTen.

"It's not funny you guys!" TenTen said, giving no denial. Her face still resembled a tomato, and Natsuka briefly thought that she may be a better fit for Sasuke. The boy loved his tomatoes, after all.

"I assure you, Ten-chan, it _really_ is. Oh, what a delightful revelation." The last part was spoken a bit evilly, and she was too busy thinking of all the scheming she could do with this wondrous information to notice that they'd reached the Hokage tower. A gentle hand from Lee stopped her from tripping up the stairs, and soon they arrived at the Godaime's office.

The grand looking double doors to her office were ajar, and she could just barely see that the office was already occupied. Not by Team 7, she'd no idea where the brats had run off to. No, standing straight and tall before Tsunade were Genma, Shisui, and Itachi.

Except, there was a slight slump in the younger Uchiha's normally impeccable posture, and she wondered how much of a toll the body took when it lost a whole arm. She shuddered at the thought, and it was at that moment that Tsunade's eyes shot to their direction. She met eyes with the female Sannin through the gap in the doors, and was alarmed at the irate expression she saw on her village leaders face.

Only mildly alarmed though, since it was highly probable that the old woman was just angry because she'd run out of sake.

But no, there was a nearly full bottle sitting near the edge of her desk. Natsuka's eyes narrowed, sensing trouble ahead.

"You three!" She pointed an angry finger in their general direction, and she resisted the urge to shrink into herself when three other pairs of eyes turned their way. Itachi looked rather distracted and his dark eyes seemed to look right through them, while Shisui and Genma wore unreadable expressions. "No mission report needed. Go away, I'm busy."

Natsuka had already turned away, more than ready to escape this uncomfortable situation when the Hokage's voice rang out again. "Hyuuga!"

 _Did she always have to yell?_ Since she was fairly certain she was the only Hyuuga on the premises, she slowly and hesitantly turned around. "Hmm?"

The blonde woman's eyes narrowed into slits, but she didn't lecture her on the lack of propriety. Propriety – something that'd been instilled into her from birth, and yet was so easy to let go of.

"I'll be seeing you later."

Natsuka waited for her to say something else, but when no words came she simply turned and continued on her way, catching up to Lee and TenTen.

 _That wasn't at all ominous._

She was frowning as she exited the tower, but she was faced with a startling sight upon walking back out into the early dawn. There, waiting outside the tower stood Shino.

She was momentarily stunned frozen, her feet refusing to move. It felt as if she hadn't seen her fiancé in ages, but it couldn't have been more than a few weeks.

She stood there for several more moments with her mouth hanging slightly open, and she probably looked like a complete fool. Luckily, with a sigh and a gentle shove, TenTen had her moving along again.

Sometimes she forgot just how helpful her teammates could be.

She sidled up to Shino's side and tilted her head up to look into his covered face. And slowly, her lips lifted into a smile.

She could tell that he was smiling too, because she just could. Without another moment of hesitation, she looped her arm through his and they wordlessly began making their way to the Aburame compound.

"I'm long overdue for a nap, I hope you know." She emphasized her declaration with a huge yawn.

She couldn't help but let out a tiny yelp when hands reached around her, and suddenly she found herself lifted over a shoulder. She got a face full of Shino's thick jacket, and her legs were stuck dangling over his front. "That can be arranged."

With her face still pressed into her fiancé's side, she smiled again. It was nice to be home.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Hello! This chapter really doesn't contain any of the content I originally planned to write for it, but it kinda just happened. It's also very short because I just wanted to get a new chapter posted. It's very dialogue and plot-heavy too. ANYWAY, the next chapter will be back to normal length.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 17: Perplexed

 _"'Cause I just dodged a bullet from a crazy bitch."_

* * *

Natsuka was grumbling under her breath and staring with narrowed eyes towards the window when a deep voice interrupted her musings.

"Do you have anything to say about this?" Inoichi Yamanaka's calm voice cut into the silence smoothly, but Natsuka would not be bothered so easily. She continued to stare out into the bright sunshine for several more seconds, hearing the distant sounds of content and happy civilians out and about. Eventually, she slowly slid her pale eyes towards her so-called therapist and her friend Ino's father.

"No." She answered with only a minimal opening of her mouth, and her face never turned fully toward Inoichi's before it turned back to the window again. She let out a quiet huff and crossed her arms over her chest.

Inoichi let out a sigh of his own before surreptitiously rolling his eyes.

"I saw that."

The older man would never admit it, but he jumped just the tiniest bit when the young ex-Hyuuga snapped her head his way and looked him in the eye for the first time since he stepped into the office.

"I understand that you're frustrated, but I don't understand why you feel the need to take your frustration out on me. I'm simply the messenger, Natsuka-chan, and I'm here to help you." He recovered quickly from his little start and laced his hands under his chin before speaking in his usual calm manner to his most mystifying patient.

"I'm not mad, Inoichi." Formalities had slipped away from them long ago. Others might have felt strange being on first name basis with their friend's fathers, but Natsuka was past such trivialities. "I swear I'm not mad."

She was a _little_ mad.

"I didn't say you were mad, I said you were frustrated." The soothing, monotone voice droned into her ears.

 _Damn it._ To hell with it. With arms still crossed, she directed her next words to Inoichi's long-dead cactus. "Who told?" She tried to sound demanding, but with her emotions poorly leashed she mostly just sounded like a child who'd been tattled on.

"You mean who gave honest mission reports? That would be everyone." Inoichi hid a small smirk behind his hands. The last thing he wanted to do was show the young girl that he was amused by the situation. While what it entailed was certainly nothing to be entertained by, it was fascinating to see emotion in someone who used to have so little.

"It's not like I'm suicidal," she muttered sullenly.

At that, Inoichi lost all traces of amusement and became serious. "Of course not, Natsuka. Everyone knows that. That's not what we're discussing." He took a short breath before speaking again. "Though it was obvious that your behavior changed dramatically after Hinata's death, this brought an issue to light. Before, I could see that your mental health had taken several steep turns and twists, but never for better or worse. You'd simply changed, as any person would after a traumatic experience."

She'd flinched at hearing her cousin's name but otherwise hadn't reacted. She sensed more was coming, and wasn't disappointed.

"Your behavior on this mission was brash and reckless. You could have endangered the lives of your teammates, and you _did_ endanger your own life."

"It was a _mission_ ," she said quickly. "At what point was my life _safe_?"

"Natsuka, don't try to deflect from this. Of course a shinobi's life is always on the line. But you needlessly put yourself into more danger than was absolutely necessary by acting recklessly."

She's slumped a bit in her chair by now, and her narrowed eyes now dropped to the floor. She stared at her sandaled feet. She didn't know what to say. She really didn't even know what to think.

"This behavior tells me that you may not have progressed as much as I'd originally thought. Please understand that you've done nothing wrong Natsuka. This was your first major mission since it happened, and no one could have known how you'd react."

She didn't need to ask what _it_ was, and she didn't need to sit here and listen to this any longer. Abruptly, she stood up and walked out of her therapist's door without saying a word.

"See you next week," Inoichi called out quietly. He didn't try to stop her.

Walking aimlessly through the village streets, she became lost in thought as she watched each step her feet took. She'd probably run into a wall soon, but she couldn't bring herself to care. She'd slipped seamlessly into the moving crowd of villagers, and no one paid her a second glance.

Had she been reckless? Her eyes drifted to her hand at her side. The faint scars had faded into nothing. There was no evidence of her failure. TenTen had truly done a wonderful job.

During the mission, and during the ensuing battle, she hadn't felt reckless. She hadn't felt much of anything, now that she was thinking about it. But looking back, she knew deep down that her actions had been far too brash. It was unlike her to be anything but calm and calculating during a mission, and she'd behaved worse than Naruto. She snorted under her breath at the comparison.

When you acted more impulsively than Naruto, you were doing something wrong.

Had her cousin's death changed her permanently? Was that how she'd behave in dangerous situations forever now? One might think that witnessing a traumatic event would cause one to be more fearful and cautious, but it'd seemed to have the opposite effect on Natsuka.

She frowned at her revelation. This was unacceptable. Such behavior on a mission was dangerous. For her, and more importantly, for her teammates. She'd only just begun to move past her greatest failure, and apparently even that wasn't going well. She could not be the cause of another loved one's death.

Perhaps the month of suspension she'd received would do her some good. Give her peace of mind. It was something she hadn't realize she needed.

She swerved to the right quickly to avoid running into a wooden cart, and swiftly turned to the opposite direction, location now intent on her mind.

She needed advice. More than anything, she just needed someone to talk to. And while Shino was quickly becoming that person for her, and she now trusted most of her generation's Genin, there was one person else she was desperate to see.

Her feet took her in the direction of the Hyuuga compound.

* * *

Her feet carried her all the way to the broad and looming gates of her esteemed clans compound. She tilted her head as she wondered if she could really still call it her clan.

The large gate was at least three times her height. Not that she was very tall, but the gates length was impressive. It looked just as she'd always remembered, but she'd never noticed just now private it made the compound seem.

Many clans of Konoha had their own compounds. It was not an odd thing. What made the Hyuuga compound unusual was that it was fenced in all the way around its massive length. Natsuka had always assumed it was allowed simply due to the Hyuuga being amongst the noble and oldest clans of the village. But now, with an older mind, she just thought it looked strange.

The Hyuuga had always been a private entity, protective of their bloodline and any other secrets they may hold. The walled in compound was there for safety, and protection. But as Natsuka pondered the massive structure surrounding her native clan's home and realized suddenly that not even the Uchiha fenced in their compound, she questioned the motives behind the Hyuuga's need for privacy.

Why was the gate closed in the middle of the day?

She realized quickly that this line of thought would lead nowhere good, and so she welcomed the distraction when a figure suddenly appeared on top of the wall.

"State your business."

Natsuka frowned. A lone Hyuuga stood on top of the gate, his forehead covering identifying him as a branch member. She was also fairly certain he was a distant cousin. Yama, or Yamo or something of the sort. She decided she didn't appreciate his tone.

"Hello, cousin," she called up in what she hoped was a friendly voice. "I was hoping to see my brother."

"No outsiders." He crossed his arms and stared down at her.

She raised a single brow and kept the small amount of hurt she felt at bay. She was an outsider now, was she?

She tried to remember how long it'd been since this place had no longer been her home, and realized she couldn't remember. She'd been gone a long time. She wondered if any of her clansmen still considered her one of them. It was probably best not to know.

 _Well_ , she thought, _if that was how things were going to go…_

"I would like to know where Neji is, Hyuuga-san. Right now," due to the manners instilled into the Hyuuga from birth, it did not feel odd to speak so formerly to one of her former clansmen.

Her distant cousin, however, did seem a bit taken aback at her sudden change in tone. Gone was the false friendly demeanor. Natsuka was not in the mood to play games. Two sets of pale eyes stared intently at one another for a brief moment, before one glanced away.

But Natsuka did not blink or look away while she waited for an answer.

"Neji-sama is not here. And even if he was, you would certainly not be allowed inside to see him." The Hyuuga sneered down at her, and it was her turn to be taken aback by the callousness in his tone. He continued speaking before she had a chance to respond.

"Besides, Neji-sama has more important things to do than waste his time on the likes of you." His mouth had twisted into an ugly sneer by this point, and though he still could not meet her eyes, his own cold orbs stared intently at a spot by her feet.

A myriad of emotions swam through her as she took in his words without moving. Who did this man think he was to look down upon her in such a way?

 _You're the ultimate failure_ , a voice spoke in her head. _A disgrace to the clan._

But no, that could not be where this ill-will was coming from. If she was the ultimate failure of her clan, then so _Neji-sama_ was as well. And clearly, this mere gate guard had nothing but respect for her brother.

She'd been virtually forced from the compound against her will by her very own uncle. She'd been forced into an arranged marriage that she initially did not want. But she'd done it all without a fight. She'd followed her uncles wishes. Why was it that she was still in the wrong?

Natsuka gave a dainty sniff, and couldn't help but let go of some of her anger. "My, my, Hyuuga-san. You might've just hurt my feelings deeply. You certainly would have, if I still cared about anyone or anything within this wretched clan. Rest assured, I do not." Except Neji, of course, she added silently.

As she spoke the words she knew they were true. She'd given up the dim hope of returning to the home of her blood at some point a while ago, and she now had no desire to return.

A Hyuuga was a Hyuuga, recently disowned or not, and if looks alone could maim Natsuka's certainly would have. The man above her seemed to shrink in size as his shoulders slumped ever so slightly and his sneer slowly shriveled into a weak frown.

For a Hyuuga, he really didn't have great composure. They'd let their standards go since she'd been gone, it seemed.

He shifted a bit on his feet, and she could tell he didn't know what to do next. She continued staring up at him in silence, with no intention to leave anytime soon. It wasn't every day you got to unnerve a Hyuuga, after all.

But the awkward silence did not last nearly long enough before a lilting voice interrupted. "Let her in, Amayo."

Well, she hadn't gotten his name even close to correct. Oh well.

"But Hanabi-sama-!" The guard protested.

Natsuka lifted a delicate brow. _Hanabi_?

Suddenly, the looming gate began opening, accompanied with the oh so pleasant sound of grating metal. A bit of dust was kicked up, and when it cleared the compound was open and Natsuka stood face to face with her younger cousin.

She'd only caught glimpses of the younger girl in the time since she'd gone, and most of those had been from her successful attempts at stalking her brother and finding him in spots throughout the village. She'd seem them walk hand in hand a time or two.

She was wearing a pink yukata, and _young and_ _pretty_ was really the only way to describe her. Her face though, told a different story. The girl looked older than Natsuka remembered her being, and she felt a whisper of unease.

She'd visibly grown in recent years. They stood nearly even in height, which really just wasn't fair at all. The long ebony hair so similar to her own fell straight down her back, falling to her waist. Her eyes, nose, mouth.. she looked so similar to her long dead sister that it was unnerving.

She was also staring straight at Natsuka with an unreadable expression.

"Please follow me, Natsuka-san. I have tea prepared." And then she turned on her heel and began walking farther into the compound, a compound she didn't remember as well as she once did.

With only a moment of hesitation, Natsuka took a slow step past the gate, and then strode after the girl with as much confidence as she could muster. Her face did not betray an ounce of the turmoil or confusion she was feeling.

She just hoped the girl hadn't hear any of her insults through the gate. That certainly wouldn't start things off well.

* * *

As it turned out, if Hanabi witnessed any of her outburst, she did not bring it up.

They'd been sitting in the old tea room for half an hour now, daintily sipping on green tea and making amicable conversation about nothing.

She was slowly dying inside.

Natsuka, and Neji for that matter, rarely spent time with Hanabi when they were younger. Their duty was and had always been to the heir. And so they'd rarely graced the younger sibling with even a thought.

Which was turning out to be a grievous mistake apparently, because she'd quickly learned over the last half hour that she knew nothing about this girl or her intentions. It was clear she was playing some sort of game, but Natsuka was not even on the playing board yet.

If she recalled correctly, Neji was the true heir to the clan now. At some point in time, he'd become engaged to Hanabi. Natsuka swallowed a sip of tea along with her distaste at this thought. She was curious as to how Hanabi felt about not being named heir, but she somehow doubted she'd ever get the chance to ask her.

"And so I told him, that shade of lavender will simply not do. It clashes with my eyes, you see." Hanabi let out a deep sigh with this statement, as if deeply burdened by her color coordination issues.

"Ah, yes," Natsuka agreed blithely. What had she been saying?

"Natsuka, dear." Said girl started a bit at the condescending tone. "I know it's coming up very shortly, and I think I know why you're here."

She hid her confusion behind another sip of the cooling tea. "Hmm? Remind me, what's coming up again?"

Hanabi frowned and put a hand over her heart. "Oh, cousin. You don't have to pretend. You know I'm talking about the wedding."

It was only years of reflex training that kept the tea within the confines of her mouth. "Wedding?"

"Well, yes," Hanabi said tentatively. "It won't be long now before we make it official. And I know you were wondering where your invitation was-"

"You and Neji are getting married already? Aren't you thirteen?" They were not the most graceful words to ever escape Natsuka's mouth, but she was too astonished to care.

"I'm fifteen," the girl answered with a hint of frost in her voice now. "And we did not see any need to wait longer, seeing as Neji has achieved Jounin status."

She didn't have any tea in her mouth to cover up the shock this time. Her mouth gaped open for just a moment before it snapped shut. "Neji? Jounin?"

"Yes, Natsuka-san. He was promoted just last month. I understand that you and Shino-san are waiting to be married until you both achieve the rank."

"Well, yes, but-"

"Anyway," Hanabi interrupted her. "I didn't want you to be worried that your invitation was lost in the mail or anything of the sort. It's just… we really can't have you at the wedding, Natsuka-san. Not with everything that's happened. You understand, right?" Hanabi looked at her with wide eyes and what was probably supposed to be a heartfelt expression.

Natsuka blinked a few times and drank the last bit of tea before answering. "Right," she drawled out slowly. "Of course, Hanabi. Er, Hanabi-san." With the tea gone, and her nerves absolutely frayed, she stood up to take her leave. All she'd wanted to go was visit her brother. Instead she'd been gifted far more information than she'd bargained for.

Hanabi stood as well. "Oh dear. With all due respect Natsuka-san, you'd best refer to me as Hanabi-sama when we are in public. We wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong idea, now would we?" her younger cousin flashed her a brilliant smile before grasping her by the elbow and leading her out.

They walked to the gates in silence. Natsuka probably could not have spoken if she'd tried.

"Well, Natsuka-san, it was wonderful to see you. If you'd like chat in the future, do not hesitate to contact me and we can meet somewhere inside the village." Another bright smile, and Natsuka was being sent on her way.

She began walking out of her former home without uttering a word, but finally gained some of her wits before she'd traveled too far.

"Oh, don't worry _Hanabi_. I don't think we'll be seeing each other again any time soon."

She called the words as casually as she possibly could over her shoulder, and so she missed the dark look that flashed across innocent little Hanabi's face.

She also didn't realize at the time how impossibly far from the truth her words were.


End file.
